Tough Owen Valley defense topples Tiger Cubs

Tuesday, November 7, 2017

SPENCER — Greencastle headed south to face Class 3A No. 21 Owen Valley in girls’ high school basketball game on Tuesday night. Unfortunately, the Tiger Cubs’ offense didn’t travel with them as they were defeated 50-22 by the Patriots.

Greencastle struggled to put points on the board as Tiger Cubs hit just 16 percent from the floor and 50 percent from the line. They didn’t score in double figures in any quarter in falling to 0-2 on the young season.

“It was a frustrating game to coach,” Greencastle head coach Bradley Key said. “We rushed some things and didn’t take good shots.”

Neither team scored very well early. It was almost two and half minutes into the game before Greencastle’s Bailey Shuee broke the ice with a free throw to give the Cubs their only lead of the game at 1-0.

The two teams combined to hit only 5-of-22 from the floor with four of those field goals from the host Patriots. Owen Valley opened up a 10-4 lead at the end of the first stanza.

The Patriots used their speed and athleticism to go on a 9-0 run to start the second quarter. Owen Valley outscored the Cubs 16-3 in the period. Greencastle didn’t score in the period until 2:58 left in the half with a free throw. Owen Valley finished the half with a commanding 26-7 lead as Payton Cattorini scored nine of her game-high 23 points in the quarter.

“Offensively, we have to get better as a team,” Key said. “We need our better players to take better shots. We passed up some open ones (shots) and we forced some shots. We have to understand what to do in situations.”

The Tiger Cub offense continued to struggle into the second half and the Patriots capitalized on that to put the game away. Greencastle didn’t score over the last 3:28 of the third quarter as the consistent Patriots kept extending the lead. Owen Valley methodically added another 12 points in the period and led 38-13 heading into the final quarter.

“We’ve got to find some players to step up and lead us. It’s a long season and we have got to get better,” Key said. “I did think that Marin Nally came off the bench and played really well inside.”

The fourth quarter was more of the same as the Tiger Cubs could only muster one point in the first five minutes of the quarter. The Patriots extended their lead to 48-14 before the Cubs went to the free throw line and moved the scoreboard. The Cubs hit six-of-12 from the line in the final quarter, but Owen Valley’s lead was too large to recover from and the final score was set at 50-22.

Shuee scored seven of her team-high 11 points in the quarter.

“Bailey Shuee did a good job of attacking, but needs to understand when to attack and when not to,” Key said.

Owen Valley hit 42 percent (22-of-52) from the field, but was limited to just three free throw attempts, making none. The two teams battled evenly on the boards. Owen Valley had a much bigger team, but only outrebounded the Cubs 36-35 on the night.

The Patriots did force Greencastle into 27 turnovers, but never really got their running game going. The Tiger Cubs did slow the game down some.

The Tiger Cubs will try and pick up their first win of the season on Saturday as they host Beech Grove. Coach Key did find some improvement in his team from their first game.

“After Saturday, I was disappointed in our defensive effort. I thought we played pretty well defensively. We cut some things off and had a better effort tonight,” Key said.

GREENCASTLE (22) – White 2-7 1-2 5, Stoffregen 0-5 1-4 1, Shuee 2-12 5-8 11, Duff 1-2 0-0 2, Stevens 1-3 0-0 2, Robinson 0-2 1-2 1, Nally 0-6 0-0 0, Doan 0-0 0-0 0, Trigg 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 6-38 FG, 8-16 FT, 22 TP.

OWEN VALLEY (50) – Schafer 2-3 0-0 5, Drake 3-9 0-0 8, Cattorini 10-17 0-1 23, Herrington 1-10 0-0 2, Godwin 2-3 0-0 4, Johnson 1-1 0-0 2, L. Richardson 1-2 0-2 2, Lighter 0-0 0-0 0, Miller 0-1 0-0 0, K. Richardson 0-1 0-0 0, Comte 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 22-52 FG, 0-3 FT, 50 TP.

Greencastle 4 3 6 9 – 22

Owen Valley 10 16 12 12 – 50

3-point shooting – OV 6-17 (Schafer 1-1, Drake 2-6, Cattorini 2-6, Herrington 0-6), GHS 2-18 (Shuee 2-8, Duff 0-1, Robinson 0-2, Stoffregen 0-2, Nally 0-4, Trigg 0-1) Rebounds – OV 36 (Schafer 5, Drake 3, Cattorini 4, Herrington 2, Godwin 5, Johnson 2, Farris 2, L. Richardson 2, Lighter 2, K. Richardson 3), GHS 35 (White 10, Stoffregen 3, Shuee 4, Duff 1, Stevens 5, Robinson 2, Nally 6) FG Pct. – OV 42.3, GHS 15.8. FT Pct. – OV 00.0, GHS 50.0. Turnovers – OV 16, GHS 27.

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