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Eagles nip Mounties by one again
SP does ‘enough’ right to get victory
CLAYTON — It takes a lot of things to go right to win a basketball game in an Indiana sectional contest. The South Putnam Eagles advanced to the semifinals of the Class 2A sectionals at Cascade on Tuesday night by doing just enough right and winning 43-42 as the Southmont Mounties missed a lay-up at the buzzer.
“We did enough to win. Shots didn’t always fall, but we got to a lot of 50-50 balls and put ourselves in a good position to win,” South Putnam head coach Brian Gardner said.
The Eagles will take on the host and sectional favorite on Friday night in the second game of the sectional. South improved to 13-10 on the season.
The Eagles jumped out to a quick lead in the first quarter. South scored the first six points of the game and had an 11-3 lead before Southmont found its footing. The Eagles forced nine first quarter turnovers and used their pressure defense to set the tone.
“I thought we really made them uncomfortable early,” Gardner said. “If the game is played in the 60s, we probably don’t win, but we did a really good job of making them do things they did not want to do.”
Southmont rallied by scoring the last seven points of the quarter and cutting the lead to 11-10 at the first stop in play. Caitlyn Capps scored five points in the quarter to lead the way for South Putnam.
The two teams were never separated by more than three points in the second quarter. The Eagles did a good job in the quarter of taking care of the basketball. South had only one second-period turnover, which was key as the Eagles only hit 3 of 12 shots from the floor and were outrebounded 13-6. Lexi Vanihel scored four points in the quarter to lead the Eagles.
“We really competed in this game. The girls played hard. In order to win a game in the tournament you have to do that,” Gardner said.
Southmont made its run in the third quarter. The Mounties closed the quarter on an 8-2 run to take their first lead of the night late in the period and finished with a 32-28 lead. Kasey Burton kept getting to the basket for the Mounties and led them with eight points in the quarter.
The Eagles struggled to take care of the ball in the quarter with six turnovers, but kept the game within reach and didn’t let the Mountie comeback rattle them according to Gardner.
“In sectional play runs are very important. When they came back and took that lead, we didn’t panic,” Gardner said. “We kept our composure and really did what we needed to win the game.”
South responded right away to start the fourth quarter. Aubrey Barker hit a three-pointer that capped an 11-2 run to start the fourth quarter and put the Eagles in the driver’s seat with a 39-34 lead with 4:50 left in the game. The Eagles couldn’t quite close out the Mounties, though.
Southmont began to claw its way back into the game. A trio of layups and two free throws had the lead down to 41-40 with 2:12 left to play. The pressure of a tournament game bothered both teams as they struggled to hit shots late. After a Lillie Stein free throw, Burton hit two from the charity stripe for the Mounties and tied the score at 42-all with 1:27 left.
The two teams traded turnovers and missed shots coming down the stretch until Capps hit one-of-two from the line to give the Eagles a 43-42 lead with :28 left to play setting the stage for a furious finish.
The Mounties missed a couple of shots and the Eagles finally got the rebound and was fouled with :08 left to play. South inbounded the ball, but Southmont deflected the ball out of bounds with five seconds left — forcing the Eagles to call a timeout.
South’s inbounds pass was intercepted by Avery Hess, who raced down the court and attempted a lay-up at the buzzer that didn’t fall.
“We just told them to get it to whoever was open. We just kind of tossed the ball up and they got it. I feel bad for their girl who missed it, but we missed a lot of layups also,” Gardner said.
Southmont was led by Burton’s 19 points and Hess had 13. The Eagles had no one in double figures, but had five players within two points of each other. Stein and Barker led the team with nine points each. Vanihel and Capps had eight points, while Miranda Bieghler netted seven.
“We were really balanced. We did what we had to in order win this game,” Gardner said. “I am really proud of these girls and excited for them. We have a chance to win another tournament game against Cascade.”
SOUTH PUTNAM (43) – Bieghler 2-8 3-4 7, Nichols 1-1 0-0 2, Vanihel 4-12 0-0 8, Capps 2-5 3-4 8, Stein 2-5 3-4 9, Boswell 0-2 0-0 0, Vensko 0-1 0-0 0, Barker 3-7 2-2 9. Totals 15-46 FG, 11-14 FT, 43 TP.
SOUTHMONT (42) – Burton 5-15 9-10 19, Ward 1-1 0-0 2, Case 1-8 0-0 2, Hess 5-9 2-6 13, McVay 1-5 2-4 4, Link 1-4 0-0 2, Remley 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 14-43 FG, 13-20 FT, 42 TP.
South Putnam 11 9 8 15 – 43
Southmont 10 9 13 10 – 42
3-point shooting – SP 2-18 (Bieghler 0-4, Vanihel 0-3, Capps 1-2, Stein 0-3, Boswell 0-1, Barker 1-5), SHS 1-7 (Burton 0-1, Case 0-2, Hess 1-2, McVay 0-1, Link 0-1), REB – SP 25 (Bieghler 2, Nichols 2, Vanihel 5, Stein 7, Boswell 2, Vensko 2, Barker 4, Capps 1), SHS 43 (Burton 13, Ward 2, Case 3, Hess 5, McVay 10, Link 2), FG Pct. – SP 32.6, SHS 32.5. FT Pct. – SP 78.6, SHS 65.0. Turnovers – SP 19, SHS 27.
Next game — South Putnam (13-10) plays Cascade in Friday’s second semifinal game of the Cascade Sectional. Southmont ended its season at 13-10.