Clovers pull away from Thunderbirds with big third period

Sunday, November 27, 2016

CLOVERDALE — The Cloverdale Lady Clovers were not hospitable to the visiting Eastern Greene Thunderbirds over Thanksgiving weekend.

Cloverdale pounded the boards and held the Thunderbirds under 30-percent shooting to gain a non-conference high school basketball victory. Cloverdale pulled away in the third quarter for a 51-40 win.

“It was good to get a win,” Cloverdale head coach Matthew Langdon said. “Eastern Greene is a good team. We responded well today.”

The Clovers outscored the Thunderbirds 16-6 in the third quarter and then hit 10-of-13 free throws in the fourth quarter to improve their record to 5-2 on the season. Cloverdale overcame 30 turnovers in the game.

The Thunderbirds fell to 2-4 on the season as they couldn’t overcome 8-of-25 shooting from the foul line. The Clovers offset that by hitting on 15-of-19 from the line.

The two teams battled throughout the first quarter with the Clovers taking a 17-14 lead to end the period. Abby Walker hit two three-pointers and Hailey Thomas hit one as the Clovers were able to spread the floor and hit from the outside. This opened up the inside for Tori Combs later on.

The Clover ball handlers were able to penetrate and find the open shooters.

“Our ball handlers really played well. Hailey Thomas and Sammie Shrum did a better job of looking to score and creating,” Langdon said.

The second quarter saw both teams struggle offensively. The teams combined to score just 14 total points and turned the ball over 19 times. Cloverdale had 11 of those turnovers.

Eastern Greene’s Kayla Rogers led the Thunderbirds in the quarter with six of her team-high 16 points. The six-foot-two senior hit three of her four shots and got the Clovers into some foul trouble as the cut the lead to 23-22 at the half.

“The Rogers girl is a four-year starter. With her height and versatility, she is tough to handle,” Langdon said.

Cloverdale made its run in the third quarter with Walker and Combs on the bench with foul trouble. Freshmen Thomas and Lakkain Price led the way in their absence. The two combined for 14 of the 16 Cloverdale points, turning a 23-22 halftime lead into a 39-28 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.

“This was a nice early season win for us,” Langdon said. “Lakkain Price stepped up off the bench. She got eight or nine in the game. Arianna McCracken got some good, meaningful minutes.”

The Clover defense gave the Thunderbirds fits in the second half. The visitors managed to hit just 6-of-32 shots in the second half.

The Clovers also hit the boards throughout the game trying to combat the larger Thunderbirds. Cloverdale outrebounded Eastern 46-37.

Combs had a game-high 14 rebounds and Shrum grabbed 12 caroms herself for the Clovers.

“We were able to do something that has been non-existent this year. We were able to box out,” Langdon said. “Sammie, Tori and Lakkain did a huge job down there. We have really been working on that.”

Combs took over in the fourth quarter. The sophomore post player scored seven of her game-high 17 points in the stanza. She was able to hit all five of her free throws and pulled down four rebounds.

“She played under control. She attacked when it was open and didn’t when it wasn’t,” Langdon said.

Cloverdale will be back in action Tuesday night, hosting county rival North Putnam. The Clovers have already played the Cougars, winning 55-19 in the consolation game of the Putnam County tournament.

EASTERN GREENE (40) – Skinner 2-6 2-3 6, Cramer 0-4 0-0 0, Lucas 4-13 1-4 9, Rogers 7-15 2-12 16, Sparks 1-8 1-3 3, Prince 0-1 0-2 0, Flynn 1-3 2-2 4, Hatfield 1-3 0-0 2, Young 0-1 0-0 0, Rollins 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-54 FG, 8-25 FT, 40 TP.

CLOVERDALE (51) – Shrum 1-6 1-2 3, Thomas 5-10 4-6 16, Walker 2-7 1-2 7, Combs 6-11 5-5 17, Helterbrand 0-8 0-0 0, Price 2-2 4-4 8, Meek 0-3 0-0 0, Shoemaker 0-0 0-0 0, McCracken 0-0 0-0 0, Simpson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-47 FG, 15-19 FT, 51 TP.

Eastern Greene 14 8 6 12 – 40

Cloverdale 17 6 16 12 – 51

3-point shooting – EGHS 0-1 (Young 0-1), CHS 4-15(Shrum 0-4, Thomas 2-3, Walker 2-6, Helterbrand 0-1, Meek 0-1). Rebounds – EGHS 37 (Skinner 4, Lucas 8, Rogers 9, Sparks 5, Prince 1, Flynn 3, Hatfield 2, Rollins 1) CHS – 46 (Shrum 12, Thomas 3, Walker 3, Combs 14, Price 5, Meek 1, McCracken 1) FG Pct. – EGHS 29.6, CHS 34.0. FT Pct. – EGHS 32.0, CHS 78.9. Turnovers – EGHS 28, CHS 30.

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