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Greencastle girls beat Eagles in OT Friday
The South Putnam Eagles and Greencastle Tiger Cubs girls' basketball teams took part in a battle for the ages on Friday night.
Both the Eagles (8-8, 0-2 WCC) and the Tiger Cubs (11-5, 2-0 WCC) knew it would be a tough game coming in with the paddle on the line with both teams playing very good basketball. The Eagles were on a five-game win streak and the Tiger Cubs undefeated in conference play.
"I think we have performed really well. We are doing things that we want to do and they are working hard," Eagles head coach Tim Garver said. "Every day we practice we feel like we are getting better."
"We got the win and that is all that matters," Tiger Cubs head coach Bradley Key said. "South Putnam brought their A game."
The game was back and forth in the first quarter with the Tiger Cubs leading 11-9 at the end. The Eagles would go on a 5-0 run to take the lead 14-11 midway through the second before junior Paige Bragg stole the ball and made a fast break layup. On the next possession senior Lauren Bridgewater dished the ball out to junior Bethanie Burgeson for a 3-pointer to take the lead. The Eagles would take control of the remainder of the quarter to close it out on a 8-0 run capped off by a 3-pointer by senior Katelyn Lady with less than 15 seconds left in the half to lead 22-16.
"Our girls stepped up and their girls stepped up tonight. We put together a gameplan and they did everything that we asked them to do," Garver said. "I do not think we could have done any better. They did exactly what we asked them to do."
"I thought we played well (in the third quarter). I told them to relax, work the ball and we would get shots," Key said.
Greencastle came out firing in the second half going on a 11-4 run to take the lead with Bridgewater scoring six of those. The score was tied at the end of the third, 29 all, setting up a classic finish between rival schools.
The teams came out firing in the fourth quarter trading bucket after bucket. The Tiger Cubs made a run to take a 44-40 lead but a senior Emily Dobson effort layup pulled the Eagles to within two with a minute left.
With the Eagles down by two with 10 seconds left they forced a turnover on the in-bounds play and called a timeout.
Freshman Lillie Stein missed her shot for the tie but Dobson was there for the board and the put back with three seconds left to send it to overtime.
"Emily played huge inside. She did what we wanted to do and she went strong to the glass," Garver said.
In overtime the Tiger Cubs took advantage of their good freethrow shooting and cruised to a 58-47 victory, hitting nine of their 12 freethrow attempts.
Greencastle senior Callan Taylor had 19 points in the game to lead all scorers with 11 of those coming at the line.
"She is a great player. We stayed back off of her and we did what we could do. She is a player that is going to score," Garver said.
"Taylor got to the line 18 times, that is amazing. I thought Burgeson played well playing the whole game for us. Those two played great," Key said. "Bridgewater had 11 points and we are asking more of her. I'm proud of them."
Both teams could have won this game and it was a building block for both to see where they are at at this point this season.
"We need to continue to work through the offense and continue to work hard. This is all part of the process," Garver said.
"We need to do a better job getting the ball inside and we need to capitalize on turnovers and take care of the ball," Key said.
South Putnam 9 13 7 17 2 -48
Greencastle 11 5 13 17 11 - 57
SCORING
South Putnam (48): Dobson 7-13 0-0 14, Hewitt 6-13 0-0 12, Beighler 3-8 0-0 9, Stein 2-9 0-0 6, Carmichael 0-2 3-4, Lady 1-4 0-0 3, Higgins 0-3 1-2 1. TOTALS: 19-51 (6-17) 4-6, 48.
Greencastle (57): Taylor 4-16 11-18 19, Bridgewater 5-18 0-0 11, Burgeson 3-5 2-2 11, Stoltey 2-12 1-2 6, Bragg 1-3 2-4 4, Stevens 2-6 0-2 4, White 0-2 2-2 2. TOTALS: 17-62 (5-24) 18-30, 57.
REBOUNDING (Total-offensive)
South Putnam (34-8): Dobson 8-2, Hewitt 5-2, Stein 5-2, Higgins 5-1, Carmichael 4-1, Beighler 3-0, Modglin 3-0, Lady 1-0.
Greencastle (35-18): Stevens 8-4, Burgeson 7-4, Taylor 7-2, Bridgewater 6-5, Bragg 3-1, Stoltey 3-1, White 1-1.
Assists: SP 9 (Stein 3, Dobson 2, Carmichael 1, Hewitt 1, Lady 1, Modglin 1), GC 9 (Bragg 3, Bridgewater 2, Taylor 2, Stevens 1, Stoltey 1).
Steals: SP 2, (Higgins 1, Stein 1), GC 15 (Taylor 5, Bragg 4, Burgeson 4, Bridgewater 1, Stoltey 1).
Blocks: SP 3 (Dobson 3), GC 2 (Stevens 1, Stoltey 1).
Fouls: SP 19, GC 9. Turnovers: SP 24, GC 9.