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CHS loses to Monrovia
Monrovia led big at halftime against the Cloverdale girls' basketball team but earning the sectional win was anything but easy for the Bulldogs Friday night as CHS, as it have done all season, fought tooth-and-nail in the second half.
The Clovers got to within three points before Monrovia was finally able to put them away 44-36 and end the Clover season at 8-16.
"It's more about the program and about what these girls did for the program," Clover coach Matt Langdon said. "It's hard to make big jumps as far as win totals. So when a group like this fights and claws for eight wins, It really opens the door for future teams."
The first half was not what Cloverdale fans wanted to see from the Clover offense. While the defense did its job forcing first-half steals and tough jumpers, the Clover offense struggled to find points early.
Kelsey Helterbrand had three first-half steals but CHS did not capitalize and had trouble beating the pressure Bulldog defense. The Clovers were down 22-9 in the first after being held to five in the first quarter and four in the second. Helterbrand, Haley Hamm and Payton Dorsett were the only Clovers to score from the floor with Angela Pieper knocking down a foul shot.
"Obviously the first half did not go the way we wanted," Langdon said. "There was a couple of things that we did early on that they got on us for but after that we held them to 22 points in the first half. Still when things weren't going right and everything could've gond wrong, we did what we have done all year long. We got a steal at the end of the second quarter and got it to 14 points."
The Clovers made their run in the third quarter. CHS saw the return of Tori Combs who was on the bench for most of the first half with three fouls. Her return revitalized the Cloverdale team who cranked into high gear and outscored Monrovia 16-7 in the third.
The Clover defense continued its job as Combs had three steals in the quarter and CHS began slashing to the middle where the buckets began to fall for Cloverdale.
Abby Walker knocked down a corner three, Helterbrand earned two layups, Lauren Meek and Dorsett both picked up a bucket inside and Combs, who kept up the fierce play on the boards, also made a few tough baskets in the paint. She led the team with seven rebounds.
"A lot of times you can come out with a 14-point deficit and you won't even get close until two or three minutes to go when the game's already over," Langdon said. "For us to make that run in the third quarter and into the fourth and pull within three points, every single possession we made them earn it in the second half. We made some adjustments and girls ran some things they've never ran before. It was just all-out effort."
One of the most crucial plays of the night came when Hamm fought for a loose rebound and rose up to make the score 31-28 Bulldogs lead shorty into the fourth. From then on it was a dogfight to the finish.
The Clovers stayed close, pulling to within six a few times in the last five minutes of the game but despite the Cloverdale effort on both ends of the floor, CHS could get over the hump and take the lead. Monrovia found ways to get the ball out of the Cloverdale players' hands and into its own bucket.
"It's a special group of seniors," Langdon said. "They just poured their hearts and souls into this year. We saw it in the locker rooms and I've been here for five years and we see it every year. You can really see the pain in there. Thye did not want their season to end."
On a Clover team that had all four grade levels Langdon said his team's unity was a result of the four seniors, Dorsett, Hamm, Pieper and Huge, and their attempt to make everyone a part of the Cloverdale squad.
"We had freshmen through seniors play," Langdon said. "At a small school you'll have that. Tori Combs came in there and they just made them feel welcome and made them a part of the team. You saw that this year in our scoring. We had four or five girls averaging six to eight points. It's not this type of game and every else is over here. We'll miss that leadership to just put the team above yourself."
Langdon said that these seniors have helped Cloverdale basketball in making its next step toward more wins in the future.
At South Putnam Sectional
Monrovia 10 12 7 15 -- 44
Cloverdale 5 4 16 11 -- 36
Clover Scoring
13-35 (Helterbrand 4-6 1-2 9, Hamm 2-9 3-4 8, Walker 2-8 2-4 7, Dorsett 2-2 1-2 5, Combs 2-4 4, Meek 1-4 2, Pieper 0-1 1-2