Tiger Cub girls clinch 1st on Friday

Friday, January 6, 2017
Greencastle’s 6-5 sophomore Gavin Bollman fights to gain possession while Lady Tiger Cub senior Nailah Ray (below) puts up a jumpshot during a doubleheader on the road against the Knights of Northview.

BRAZIL — Finishing the quarters strong was a pivotal part of the two basketball decisions at Northview High School on Friday evening.

The Greencastle women used an 18-3 run in the fourth quarter to take sole possession of first-place in the Western Indiana Conference with a 58-43 victory over the Knights. However, the Northview boys returned the favor in the nightcap by outscoring the Tiger Cubs 12-2 over the final few minutes of the third period while cruising to a 57-35 victory.

The Greencastle girls well remembered the upset loss that they took last season at home against Northview and used those memories to fuel their effort on the road.

Nailah Ray goes to the rim for two of her 18 points against Northview on Friday night. Ray also had a game-high 10 rebounds.

“I’m really proud of how we came out and played. Last year we were kind of favorites coming into this game and (Northview) took it to us,” Greencastle coach Bradley Key recalled. “We had a really good year last year, but this the one game that really stood out. We knew we had to play well tonight. Northview is a good team.”

The Tiger Cubs had their hands full with guard Stacy Payton in the first half as the senior poured in 17 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field. Greencastle countered with their front court duo of Claire Gillen and Nailah Ray, who totaled 33 points in the game.

Payton’s big first half kept the Knights close despite foul trouble by 5-11 junior Olivia Lundy, who sat the final 10 minutes of the first half after picking up her second foul. Northview led 11-6 when she went to the bench, but Greencastle got eight points from Ray down the stretch to take a 32-28 lead at intermission.

Greencastle’s halftime adjustments in guarding Payton proved effective.

Payton hit just two shots after halftime and finished with 22 points and nine rebounds.

“A player like (Payton) you can’t let get into a rhythm,” Key said. “There is no way to actually stop her. You just have to try and contain her. In the second half I felt like we had fresh bodies. At the end of the third quarter we were able to play our number eight and nine player for awhile and get our starters some rest.”

Lundy and Gillen traded buckets to open the fourth quarter as Greencastle held a tentative 40-37 lead. However, Greencastle would get a 3-pointer from Bailey Shuee and a free throw from Gillen to extend the gap to 43-37. Payton answered with a 3-pointer to get Northview within 43-40, but it would be her final field goal.

Lundy picked up her fifth foul moments later with 4:37 left in the contest. Gillen drew the foul off a putback bucket off of an offensive rebound for a 45-40 lead.

Greencastle would sail the rest of the way with power in the paint. Gillen had seven points and four boards in the final period and Ray added four points and another four rebounds. Altogether, Greencastle held a 14-6 rebounding edge in the final period.

“I thought Nailey Ray and Claire Gillen bring something and finish pretty well. (Olivia) Lundy is a load to handle. Luckily we have two players that are able to go down there and defend her.”

Northview coach Zack Keyes agreed with the swing in momentum with Lundy off the floor.

“I thought we had some good momentum going and then Olivia picked up that second foul (in the second quarter) and it changed the game,” Northview coach Keyes said. “It really swung things in Greencastle’s direction because they have two post players that we couldn’t guard unless Olivia is out there.”

Greencastle finished the game on a 15-3 run to improve to 4-0 in the WIC while Northview dropped to 3-1 in conference play.

The Greencastle boys remained close to the Knights with some strong shooting in the first half.

Colin York knocked down his first two shots of the game, Devin Clar added two free throws and a jumper by Gavin Bollman gave Greencastle an early lead. However, the Knights countered with some timely perimeter shooting and full court defense.

Braydon Tucker scored seven of his nine points in the opening period and the Knights hit a pair of 3-pointers to lead 16-10 after one period.

Greencastle was still within 23-18 at halftime, but the Knights cranked up the pressure to open the third quarter.

Brigham Booe and Kalen Schane opened the half with 3-pointers and the Knights went inside to six-foot-eight inch Drew Lumsdon for a pair of buckets. Lumsdon would leadtie York for game-high scoring honors with 15 in the game.

The Knights increased their lead to 33-21 off a Lumsdon spin in the pain. Nick Costin responded with two free throws for the Tiger Cubs, but Northview followed with a 10-0 run to end the quarter.

Dylan Hyatt scored off an offensive rebound, Tucker laid home a bucket off a steal and Jensen Kellett got to the rim for two points. A free throw by Booe to end the third period pushed the Knights’ lead to 43-23.

The Northview lead grew to 47-23 after Camden Roembke knocked down a 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter. J.T. Matthews scored four straight for Greencastle, but the Knights finished out the win with their bench over final few minutes.

The Greencastle boys drop to 0-7 this season while the Knights improve to 8-2.

At Northview

Girls game

NORTHVIEW (43) — Thompson 0-3 0-2 0, Vanatti 0-0 0-0 0, Conrad 2-9 0-0 4, Payton 10-19 0-4 22, O. Lundy 3-7 1-4 7, Hill 0-0 0-0 0, Sparks 1-10 3-3 5, Buell 0-1 2-3 2, Richey 1-3 0-0 3. Totals: 17-52 6-16 43.

GREENCASTLE (58) — White 0-6 0-0 0, Shuee 5-9 0-0 13, Duff 0-4 4-6 4, Smith 1-8 4-6 6, Gillen 7-9 1-4 15, Stoffregen 0-6 0-0 0, Robinson 1-2 0-0 2, Ray 9-13 0-2 18, Nelly 0-2 0-0 0. Totals: 23-59 9-18 58.

Northview 13 15 7 8 — 43

Greencastle 10 22 5 21 — 58

3-point field goals - Nv 3-21 (Payton 2-8, Richey 1-3, Sparks 0-4, Conrad 0-5, Thompson 0-1), GC 3-15 (Shuee 3-5, Smith 0-4, Nelly 0-2, Stoffregen 0-4). Total Rebounds - Nv 35 (Payton 9, O. Lundy 7), GC 44 (Ray 10, Gillen 8). Total Fouls - Nv 11, GC 18. Fouled out - Nv (O. Lundy), GC (Smith). Turnovers - Nv 11, GC 11.

Boys game

NORTHVIEW (57) — Kellett 1-3 1-2 3, Hyatt 3-6 1-4 7, Booe 3-6 2-3 10, Tucker 4-8 0-0 9, Lumsdon 7-12 4-12 15, Shelton 0-0 0-0 0, Roembke 2-2 0-0 5, Schane 3-7 0-0 8, Mace 0-1, Nussell 0-0 0-0 0, Cook 0-0 0-1 0, Bryan 0-0 0-0 0, Combs 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 23-46 4-12 57.

GREENCASTLE (35) — York 5-11 2-2 15, Clar 0-0 2-2 2, Matthews 2-5 2-2 6, Bollman 2-6 0-0 4, N. Costin 1-7 2-2 5, A. Costin 1-2 0-0 3, Huthceson 0-1 0-0 0, Lucas 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 11-33 8-8 35.

Northview 16 7 20 14 - 57

Greencastle 10 8 5 12 - 35

3-point field goals - Nv 6-13 (Booe 2-5, Schane 2-3, Roembke 1-1, Lumsdon 1-1, Kellett 0-1, Mace 0-1, Hyatt 0-1), GC 5-12 (York 3-6, A. Costin 1-1, N. Costin 1-5). Total Rebounds - Nv 27 (Schane 5, Hyatt 5), GC 22 (Bollman 8). Total Fouls - Nv 10, GC 9. Fouled out - GC (Matthews). Turnovers - Nv 4, GC 11.

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