Menu
Eagles go back to back
South Putnam beats Cascade on its home floor, again, to move on to regional
CLAYTON — The South Putnam Eagles overcame tired legs and foul problems to win their second consecutive Class 2A Sectional 44 girls basketball title.
The Eagles jumped out to commanding lead and were able to hold on against the host Cascade Cadets to win 64-55 and advance to the regional. The balanced Eagles put four players in double figures and forced the Cadets into a poor shooting night to get the back-to-back titles.
“I told our coaches coming into the game that I thought we were mentally focused and loose. Last night, I thought we were mentally focused but tense. We were able attack and do the things we do well,” Gardner said.
The Eagles, who shot the ball poorly in their semifinal win against Western Boone the night before, shot the ball well early in the game to take control early. The Eagles hit 4-of-5 from behind the arc in the first quarter, highlighted by Lillie Stein’s 3-for-3 performance. The Eagles used the hot start to build a double-digit lead. The Eagles trailed only once in the game at 2-1 in the first two minutes.
“For as poorly as we shot the ball last night, we shot it so much better, tonight. We really attacked the rim and got some great looks,” Gardner said.
South shot 6-of-14 in the first quarter as Stein led the way with nine points, while Lexi Vanihel hit a trey of her own and another bucket to provide five points in support. The Eagles had a 9-0 run early in the period and were able to close the quarter up 17-12. Cascade’s Taylor Norris kept the Cadets in the game with eight of their 12 points. The two teams each hit six field goals in the quarter, but South hit four from behind the arc, while Cascade went 0-of-5 on three-pointers.
“We wanted to push them off the three-point line and force them to shoot contested twos. I thought we did a really good job of being physical and forcing them to do things they didn’t want to do,” Gardner said.
South’s defense paved the way for the Eagles to extend their lead in the second quarter. Cascade couldn’t get untracked as the Eagles limited them to 4-of-13 in the second quarter, Olivia Bryant was able to knock down a couple of deep threes and had eight points for the Cadets. South limited the rest of the team to a 2-of-9 quarter. Miranda Bieghler kicked off an 8-0 run midway through the period with a free throw. Caitlyn Capps scored on a putback, then Alex Bratcher nailed a three-pointer and Vanihel hit a jumper and the Eagles led 34-20. Cascade narrowed the margin to 35-24 at the half.
“It was great to get off to a good start. It was really important for us,” Gardner said.
The Eagles didn’t let down early in the third period. Capps scored two quick buckets give the Eagles their biggest lead of the game at 39-24. They would need that lead as the Cadets started to draw fouls on the Eagles as the quarter went along. South was coming off a tough, intense, hard-fought semi-final win against Western Boone, while the fresher Cadets had a relatively easier game the night before with a double-digit win over Monrovia. Cascade attacked the Eagles and was able to get into the double bonus before the end of the third quarter. The Cadets ended up going to the line 14 times, converting nine of them, in the quarter as the Eagles were whistled for 11 third quarter fouls. The foul line played a big part as Cascade closed the third quarter with a 9-0 run and cut the lead to 42-37 heading into the final stanza. The physically tired Eagles struggled with the Cadet press and turned the ball over seven times in the quarter.
“I can’t say enough about our bench. Ally, Chloe and Aubrey gave us big minutes when we got into foul trouble. They had to play big minutes and we wouldn’t be where we are without our bench,” Gardner said.
Cascade continued its comeback early in the fourth quarter. The Cadets closed within one point at 43-42, but back-to-back buckets by Vanihel and Capps and a free throw by Stein boosted the Eagle lead back to six at 48-42. Cascade had one more run as it closed it to 48-47, two big free throws by Nichols, another trey by Stein, and a steal and layup by Vanihel boosted the lead back to 55-48 and the Eagles were able close the game out from the charity stripe. South hit 7-of-8 from the line in the final three minutes to garner its second straight title.
“We really played with a lot of toughness and heart tonight. That is a credit to our seniors for their leadership,” Gardner said.
The balanced Eagles were led by Vanihel with 19 points. The sophomore also had her second straight game of double-figure rebounds with 10.
“Lexi was really big the last two nights. She is a girl who opposing coaches tell their team to put a body on, but that is easier said than done. She really attacks the rim and even if her shot is not falling, she does a lot of little things,” Gardner said.
Stein had 15 points and was an efficient 4-of-6 from behind the arc. Bieghler had 13 points, with eight of them from the free throw line and Capps picked up 10 on the night.
“We are really tough when we get balanced. We made a point to get the ball into Caitlyn again and that opened it up. When we get 19 from Lexi, 15 from Lillie, 13 from Biggs (Bieghler) and 10 from Capps, we are tough to defend,” Gardner said.
The Eagles will take their second straight trip to Speedway for the regional. The Eagles will put their 19-5 record on the line against the Class 2A No. 8 Triton Central Tigers at noon.
“It is just a great experience for these girls to get another sectional title. This group of girls has been so tough and has earned it,” Gardner said.
CASCADE (55) – O. Bryant 8-23 5-7 25, Rasnake 0-4 1-2 1, Norris 4-7 4-6 12, E. Bryant 3-9 7-12 13, Hostetler 1-3 0-0 2, Bryant 0-2 0-0 0, Cleveland 0-1 0-0 0. Gibbs 1-3 0-0 2, Parsons 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 17-54 FG, 17-27 FT, 55 TP.
SOUTH PUTNAM (64) – Bieghler 2-8 8-12 13, Bratcher 1-2 0-0 3, Vanihel 7-12 3-7 19, Capps 6-12 0-0 12, Stein 4-8 3-4 15, Nichols 0-2 2-2 2, Hill 0-2 0-0 0, Custis 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 20-49 FG, 16-25 FT, 64 TP.
Cascade 12 12 13 18 — 55
South Putnam 17 18 17 22 — 64
3-Point Shooting — CHS 4-21 (O. Bryant 4-15, Rasnake 0-2, Norris 0-1, E. Bryant 0-1, S. Bryant 0-1, Cleveland 0-1), SP 8-15 (Bieghler 1-3, Bratcher 1-1, Vanihel 2-3, Stein 4-6, Custis 0-2). Rebounds – CHS 37 (O. Bryant 5, Rasnake 4, Norris 7, E. Bryant 13, Hostetler 3, Cleveland 2, Gibbs 1, Parsons 1) SP – 35 (Beighler 4, Vanihel 10, Capps 5, Stein 3, Nichols 2, Hill 3, Custis 1) FG Pct. – CHS 31.5, SP 40.8. FT Pct. – CHS 63.0, SP 64.0. Turnovers – CHS 14, SP 12.
Speedway Regional pairings
10 a.m. —Winchester (23-2) vs. Covenant Christian (16-9)
Noon — Triton Central (20-4) vs. South Putnam (19-5)
8 p.m. — Championship