Menu
Bison hand Tiger Cubs first loss; Clovers win big, stay undefeated
Greencastle’s four girls’ basketball opponents have gotten progressively better this season.
The Tiger Cubs knocked off Cascade, Edgewood and Owen Valley to start the season as new coach Tod Windlan tries to piece his team together and implement his system.
Greencastle hosted defending sectional champion Benton Central on Saturday afternoon, and the tougher competition — plus the absence of sophomore standout Ella Shields due to a broken finger — saw the Tiger Cubs drop their first game of the young season 55-46.
The Tiger Cubs led 13-9 at the first stop, getting seven first-period point from senior guard Seelye Stoffregen. The Cubs trailed 9-7 with 1:33 left in the period when Stoffregen got a basket plus a free throw and freshman Mia Shields nailed a 3-pointer.
The Cubs edged their lead up to 16-11 before Benton Central took control.
A 10-0 run, started by three points from aggressive forward Payton Williams and finished with seven straight from senior point guard Emma Fisher, put the Bison ahead 21-16.
After a Jalyn Duff free throw, the Bison got three straight baskets to go up 27-17.
Greencastle won the last three minutes of the second quarter, but still trailed 30-24 at the intermission.
Free throws continue to be a major issue for the Cubs, who hit 10 of 15 in the first half and finished just 19 of 30.
“If we hit our free throws in the first half we’re leading at halftime, and if we hit free throws in the second half we win the game,” he said. “The good thing is that we are getting there a lot, but we are not hitting enough of them once we get there.”
Both teams had double-digit turnover totals in the first half, as full-court pressing both ways led to several errant passes.
The Bison added two points to their lead at the final stop, with Greencastle never getting closer than seven points.
A Duff trey closed out the third period for the Cubs, and the senior guard added a pair of free throws and a basket early in the final period to cut the gap to 44-39.
Greencastle could get no closer, and saw its record fall to 3-1 on the season.
Benton Central stayed undefeated at 4-0.
Rebounding was another area in which Windlan felt his team was deficient, although the absence of Ella Shields — a ferocious rebounder — undoubtedly hurt those numbers.
“They beat us on the boards, but when you’re missing Shields and [still injured senior Claire Gillen] it hurts. We just have to box out better. I thought defensively we were pretty good.”
Windlan remains positive about his team, and knows that how well it performs in February is what counts the most.
“We had 23 turnovers, but we forced them into 24,” Windlan said. “If we can get everything done, we’re going to be a pretty good team down the stretch. We have a lot of time.”
Duff led Greencastle with 14 points, while Stoffregen had 11 and Shields had 10.
Williams paced Benton Central with a game-high 17 points, while Fisher had 13.
BENTON CENTRAL (55) — Fisher 6-12 1-2 13, C.Tolen 1-2 0-2 2, Senesac 3-7 2-4 8, Coffman 1-8 2-2 4, Williams 6-10 5-5 17, K.Tolen 4-8 2-5 11, Hardebeck 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-47 FG, 12-19 FT, 55 TP
GREENCASTLE (46) — Stevens 2-5 3-6 7, Duff 3-8 7-9 14, Shuee 1-3 0-2 3, Stoffregen 4-13 3-3 11, Rodgers 0-0 1-2 1, M.Shields 2-5 5-7 10, Doan 0-0 0-0 0, Ray 0-1 0-0 0, Zellers 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 12-36 FG, 19-30 FT, 46 TP
| Benton Central | 9 | 21 | 12 | 13 | — | 55 |
| Greencastle | 13 | 11 | 10 | 12 | — | 46 |
3-point shooting — Greencastle 3-9 (Duff 1-3, Shuee 1-3, M.Shields 1-3), Benton Central 1-9 (C.Tolen 0-1, Coffman 0-4, K.Tolen 1-4). Turnovers — Greencastle 23, Benton Central 24.
In other action:
• Cloverdale 77, Shakamak 37 — Tori Combs led four Clovers in double figures with 19 points as Cloverdale remained undefeated on Saturday night with a huge win over the Lakers.
Sammie Shrum added 16 points for the Clovers, while Hailey Thomas and Madison Shoemaker each had 15.
The Clovers led 20-12 after one quarter, 41-17 at halftime and 55-27 after three periods.
“Shakamak is always a tough away game,” Clover coach Matthew Langdon said. “It’s an hour bus ride, and it’s always a game you have to make sure there’s not a carryover from the bus ride. Our girls did a nice job of jumping on them right off the bat.”
Langdon was pleased to see such balanced scoring, and thought Combs had an outstanding game defensively.
“Hailey Thomas has had back-to-back great games shooting from outside, and that’s a great sign,” he said. “Madison Shoemaker gave us a big lift off the bench. Sammie didn’t shoot as well as she normally does, but still got to 15-16 points.
“Kassie Wade hit a couple of threes and played better defense,” Langdon added. “We were able to work on some things in the second half to get ready for Danville. They are one of the best teams we’ll play this year.”
Combs added 13 rebounds and six steals for the Clovers, while Shoameker had five rebounds, Shrumn had seven steals and Thomas had three assists.
CLOVERDALE (77) — Lewellen 0-0 0-0 0, Shrum 5 4-9 16, Wade 2 0-0 6, Combs 9 1-2 19, Thomas 6 0-0 15, Shoemaker 6 3-4 15, Price 2 0-0 4, Byford 1 1-1 3. Totals 31 FG, 8-16 FT, 77 TP
SHAKAMAK (37) — Busenbark 2 0-0 6, Stone 2 3-3 7, Pierce 3 0-0 6, Hinkle 1 1-2 3, Messmer 1 0-0 2, Lash 1 0-0 2, Hayes 3 4-4 11. Totals 13 FG, 8-12 FT, 37 TP
| Cloverdale | 20 | 21 | 14 | 22 | — | 77 |
| Shakamak | 12 | 5 | 10 | 10 | — | 37 |
3-point goals — Shrum 2, Thomas 3, Wade 2, Busenbark 2, Hayes.