Clover girls turning corner

Thursday, December 29, 2016
Cloverdale won the Monrovia Tournament championship on Tuesday night.
Contributed photo

MONROVIA — The Cloverdale Clovers used toughness to defeat their county rival, South Putnam, 38-35 in the championship game of the Bulldog Classic girls’ basketball tournament at Monrovia Tuesday night.

The Clovers outrebounded the Eagles 38-28 and outscored the Eagles 22-13 in the second half to take home the hardware.

The game was not pretty, but showcased defense. South shot just 26.7 percent from the floor and the Clovers were slightly better at 31.7.

“Shots didn’t fall, but the girls didn’t quit. We hadn’t beat a team with a winning record until today. This was big for us. We were able to make adjustments at the half. We cut our turnovers and rebounded better in the second half,” Cloverdale head coach Matthew Langdon said.

South struggled to keep the Clovers from getting second opportunities according to head coach Brian Gardner. “We did enough to win the game, but we cannot give up that many offensive rebounds and win the game. We gave up four or five on free throws,” Gardner said.

The two teams really limited each other offensively throughout the whole game. The tone was set in the first quarter as they combined for just four points in the first four minutes of the game. The Clovers got a layup from Laikken Price late in the quarter to establish an 8-7 lead going into the second quarter.

South seemed to take control in the second quarter. Miranda Bieghler scored seven of her 13 points in the period including a big three-pointer late in the first half to give the Eagles their biggest lead at 22-16. Cloverdale only managed two field goals on 14 attempts in the quarter, but the halftime adjustments showed early.

The Clovers scored the first six points of the second half tie the score at 22 before an Eagle timeout stopped the run. The teams traded buckets throughout the remainder of the third quarter. Lauren Meek hit a big three-pointer in the last minute of the quarter to propel themselves to a 27-26 lead heading into the final period.

“Shots just didn’t fall like they have. When we got good ball movement, good things happened. Credit Cloverdale, they did just enough to win the game,” Gardner said.

South jumped back up early in the fourth period behind Caitlyn Capps. The sophomore scored seven of her team-high 15 points during a four minute stretch early in the quarter and the Eagles led 35-32 with just over three minutes to play. The Clovers scored the final six points of the game to get the victory.

“We had a lot of girls step up. Caitlyn had a good game. She has gotten better and better as the season has progressed. It is good to see her playing with confidence,” Gardner said.

Tori Combs led the way for the Clovers. The sophomore had her second double-double of the day with 17 points and 16 rebounds.

“She is one who leads by example. She really became more vocal today and really flourished leading our team,” Langdon said.

Her contributions did not go unnoticed by South’s coach either. “Combs is one of those girls who just attacks the rim. The little things like blocking out add up,” Gardner said.

Capps led the Eagles with 15 points and Bieghler contributed 13 as the Eagles went 1-and-1 on the day to set their record at 9-5 and host Shakamak on Jan. 3 to open the new year.

The Clovers avenged their county tourney loss against the Eagles and improved their record to 10-5. They will travel to Clay City on Jan. 2.

“Honestly, anyone who came back tonight saw a really good basketball game. Two teams were really playing hard. We really want to play a game with a higher score. South likes to keep the score down, so for us to win a game like this is really good for us,” Langdon said.

CLOVERDALE (38) – Shrum 0-8 2-5 2, Thomas 1-5 3-4 6, Combs 7-12 3-6 17, Helterbrand 1-2 0-0 2, McCracken 1-4 0-1 3, Price 2-5 1-1 5, Meek 1-5 0-0 3. Totals 13-41 FG, 9-17 FT, 38 TP.

SOUTH PUTNAM (35) – Bieghler 5-12 2-2 13, Stein 0-8 1-2 1, Capps 5-8 4-4 15, Nichols 1-8 0-0 2, Vanihel 1-5 0-1 3, Boswell 0-4 0-0 0, Vensko 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 12-45 FG, 8-11 FT, 35 TP.

Cloverdale 8 8 11 11 – 38

South Putnam 7 15 4 9 – 35

3-point shooting – CHS 3-9 (Thomas 1-3, Meek 1-2, McCracken 1-2, Shrum 0-2) , SP 3-12 (Bieghler 1-5, Stein 0-4, McCracken 1-2, Meek 1-2). REB – CHS 38 (Shrum 5, Thomas 3, Combs 16, Helterbrand 1, McCracken 5, Price 5), SP 28 (Bieghler 3, Stein 3, Capps 7, Nichols 3, Vanihel 5, Boswell 1, Vensko 3) FG Pct. – CHS 31.7, SP 26.7. FT Pct. – CHS 52.9, SP 72.7. Turnovers – CHS 19, SP 16.

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