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Greencastle wins at home against rival
For three seniors it was their last home game at McAnally Center Thursday night when the Greencastle Tiger Cubs hosted their county rival, the North Putnam Cougars. Despite a close first half, the Tiger Cubs pulled away and won 65-47.
Paige Bragg, Bethanie Burgeson and Allison White all played in their last home game and all three managed to score in double figures.
White led with 25 points and Bragg had 16 and Burgeson had 10. White added eight boards and Bragg had four assists.
"It was an emotional night," Tiger Cubs coach Brad Key said. "These girls didn't come out as freshmen super stars. They had to work their ways up and they have done a great job doing so. They have been fun to coach and we will really miss them once the season is over."
Straight out of the tip the Cougars had trouble managing the ball. They turned the ball over four straight times which led to a 6-0 Tiger Cub lead.
"We kind of had a rough start against their zone," Cougar coach Kevin Corsaro said. "(We) turned it over our first four times. After we settled down I thought we did a really good job."
North Putnam sophomore Mia Runnells got her team back into the game when she hit three straight three-point field goals with the first being a last second three in the quarter to pull the Cougars within six points, 19-13.
White had eight points alone in the quarter for Greencastle.
Runnells cut it to three with an opening three-point field goal in the second quarter and hit her third and last three of the game with 6:26 remaining in the half. She went 3 of 7 from behind the arc in the game.
"Mia started out a little rough," Corsaro said. "She got a couple turnovers and got a little flustered. We got her out of the game and calmed her down a little bit. She did a really good job from there. She is just a great shooter overall."
Key had his team call a timeout after Runnells' shot and after the timeout Bragg hit a three off an assist by Nailah Ray. On the next possession Ray assisted Burgeson on a three.
With 2:13 remaining in the quarter White had just hit her third straight basket and her team led 34-28.
In the third quarter, turnovers kept piling up for the Cougars. They had eight in the quarter and a total of 27 for the game. Greencastle had seven total.
The Tiger Cubs outscored the Cougars by nine in the third by an evenly distribution of scoring. Bragg and Mia Stevens had four apiece and White added five.
North Putnam had not gone to the free throw line all game until 3:17 remaining. Greencastle went to the line 11 times and made four. That was one of their only faults.
Late in the fourth quarter senior, Taylor Nauert, hit a three-point basket to cut the deficit to 57-47. She was 7 of 8 shooting for the Cougars and 3 of 3 behind the arc for 17 points. That would be the last points the Cougars would score.
On the very next Greencastle possession, Burgeson ended the Cougars hope with two more points off an assist from White.
For the game the Tiger Cubs had 16 assists and six players with at least two or more. Even more impressive they had 20 offensive rebounds that helped lead to 72 field goal attempts.
"That says it all about this team," Key said. "We play team basketball and we want to do what it takes to win."
For both teams it was their last game of the regular season. The Tiger Cubs finished 18-4 and 4-1 in the WIC with a third-place finish. The Cougars finished 3-19 and 0-5 in the WIC with a12-th place finish. Both teams will compete in area sectionals. North Putnam will play in the South Putnam bracket against Cloverdale on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. and the Tiger Cubs will play Lebanon in the Western Boone sectional against the winner of the Lebanon and Crawfordsville game on Friday at 6 p.m.
At GREENCASTLE HIGH SCHOOL
North Putnam 13 15 6 13--47
Greencastle 19 15 15 16--65
Scoring:
North Putnam: Nauert 7-8 0-0 17, Runnells 5-11 0-0 13, Smith 2-7 0-0 6, Spencer 3-7 0-2 6, Duncan 1-2 0-0 3, Henninger 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 19-38 FG, 9-16 3-pt, 0-2 FT.
Greencastle: White 11-19 3-3 25, Bragg 7-15 0-0 16, Burgeson 4-13 0-0 10, Stevens 4-7 0-4 8, Duff 1-2 0-0 3, Ray 1-6 1-4 3. Totals 28-72 FG, 3-18 3-pt, 4-11 FT.
Rebounds
North Putnam (3 OFF 22 TOT): Nauert 9, Smith 5, Henninger 3, Runnells 3, Lyons 1, Parent 1.
Greencastle (20 OFF 35 TOT): White 8, Ray 7, Stevens 7, Burgeson 5, Smith 3, Barker 2, Bragg 2, Duff 1.