Clover girls fall to Cascade, battle Arrows tonight

CLOVERDALE — The Clovers and Cadets battled for two extra periods to determine which team would play in the girls’ basketball fifth/sixth place game in the Western Indiana Conference.

The Clovers came up just short in a 79-73 loss to the Cadets.

The Clovers fell to 15-4 on the season as they will now host Sullivan Friday in the crossover game.

Cloverdale could face the Cadets again as they are both in Class 2A Sectional 44.

“Obviously you want to win the game, but this is just so good heading into the sectionals,” Cloverdale coach Matthew Langdon said. “So important for us to get ready.”

The Clovers looked like they were going to run away with the game early, jumping out to an 18-8 first-quarter lead behind five points each by Hailey Thomas and Sammie Shrum.

Cloverdale continued its dominance into the second quarter, opening with a 12-4 run to take a 30-12 lead with 4:47 left in the first half.

“The first half proves we can compete for a sectional title,” Langdon said. “We knocked down some shots, there were just so many positives in what we did tonight.”

Cascade took over from that point and went on a 25-1 run into the third quarter.

“Obviously, we had too many mistakes, turnovers and little things that we did,” Langdon said. “It could have been different, we talked about the silly, unforced turnovers.”

The Cadets first cut the lead to 31-28 at the half, then ripped off the first nine points of the second half and led 37-31 early in the third. Cascade’s press forced the Clovers into numerous turnovers and took advantage to grab the lead.

The two teams battled throughout the quarter with the Cadets leading 45-42 heading into the final stanza.

No team led by more than four points in the fourth quarter. The see-saw battle saw Olivia Bryant tie the score at 56-56 with 10 seconds left and force the first overtime.

The Clovers looked like they were done for as they fell behind 63-58 with just more than a minute to play, but furiously rallied and forced the second overtime as Shrum hit a layup with :00.7 left on the clock.

Cascade was able to pull away in the second extra period as Bryant scored 12 of her game-high 32 points for the Cadets with seven of them coming from the free throw line.

Olivia Bryant led the Cadets with 32 points and Emilia Bryant added 18 points, while Taylor Norris chipped in with 11.

Tori Combs led the Clovers with 24 points and 20 rebounds. Thomas had 13 points and Arianna McCracken added 11.

“It started yesterday with a great practice, physical and intense. The girls did what they had to do. Especially in the second half to battle back and force overtime twice,” Langdon said.

CASCADE (79) – O. Bryant 8-19 13-18 32, Rasnake 4-16 1-2 9, Norris 5-8 1-2 11, E. Bryant 8-13 2-3 18, Hostetler 1-2 0-0 2, Gibbs 0-1 0-2 0, S. Bryant 0-1 0-0 0, Cleveland 0-0 0-0 0, Parsons 2-3 3-6 7. Totals 28-64 FG, 20-33 FT, 79 TP.

CLOVERDALE (73) – McCracken 4-9 2-5 11, Thomas 5-9 0-0 13, Combs 9-14 6-9 24, W,alker 1-8 0-0 2, Shrum 3-11 2-2 9, Wade 4-6 0-0 9, Price 1-1 3-4 5. Totals 27-58 FG, 13-20 FT, 73 TP.

Cascade 8 20 17 11 8 15 — 79

Cloverdale 18 13 11 14 8 9 — 73

3-point shooting – Cas 3-17 (O. Bryant 3-12, Rasnake 0-4, E. Bryant 0-1), CHS 6-22 (McCracken 1-2, Thomas 3-6, Combs 0-1, Walker 0-6, Shrum 1-4, Wade 1-3). Rebounds – Cas 34 (O. Bryant 2, Rasnake 2, Norris 8, E. Bryant 7, Hostetler 7, Gibbs 2, S. Bryant 2, Parsons 1) CHS – 42 (McCracken 3, Thomas 2, Combs 20, Walker 4, Shrum 7, Wade 2, Price 3) FG Pct. – Cas 43.8, CHS 46.6. FT Pct. – Cas 60.6, CHS 65.0. Turnovers – Cas 9, CHS 24.