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Tiger Cubs show grit in seeing off Patriots
For the second week of the 2022-23 girls’ basketball season, the pace set by Greencastle and Owen Valley Tuesday night was more akin to the second to last week of the season.
A bruising first half, one in which neither team gave an inch and the only thing that was tougher was the iron on each end of the floor, gave way to a Tiger Cub squad that got stronger as the night went on, topping the Patriots 56-42.
“The girls did a great job against Edgewood and while tonight wasn’t as good early, we got a big three to tie the game halftime and our comment was, ‘What’s Owen Valley thinking because the (first half) was their way in a lot of ways?’” Greencastle head coach Doug Greenlee said. “We were able to hang in there and play good defense in a lot of situations and the second half is ours.
“The will to win and the mental approach to the game is something we’ve talked about and we came here to win this game.”
Gloria Brewer opened the scoring with a jumper that was answered by a hook shot from Reagan Martin as both teams scrapped and stood tall on the defensive end.
Madi Key hit a jumper that made it 4-2 Owen Valley midway through the opening quarter as both teams struggled to get the few open looks they found to fall.
Evelyn Briones scored the final points of the quarter on a three that gave the hosts a 5-4 lead after eight minutes of tough defensive work.
Emma Hunter opened the quarter with a jumper but Key hit a three and a short hook from Kearstin Ciresi swung the lead back to the visitors 9-7.
Madi Plew scored on a putback to tie the game before Brewer canned a three to make it 12-9.
Owen Valley tied the game at 12-12 after Martin hit two free throws and took the lead on a Ciresi layup and putback that made it 16-13.
Brewer would end the half with a three at the horn to tie the game at 16-16.
Taylor York hit a jumper and Martin hit a three to start the second half with five quick points but Brewer pulled all five back on a jumper and three of her own.
Ciresi notched a three as the two teams managed to increase the frenetic pace of the first half with Ali Dobbs replying with a three out of a timeout.
Kay hit four free throws around a Brewer layup as the teams were netted at 28-28 with a minute left in the third quarter.
Brewer dribbled down the clock for 50 seconds before drawing an extra defender and hooking a pass to Hunter, who drained a three to give Greencastle a 31-28 lead heading into the final period.
“That was probably the biggest shot of the game outside the shot at the end of the half,” Greenlee said about Hunter’s three. “It was what we wanted out of that scenario.
“Emma slid to a perfect spot, Gloria found her through the double team and it was a huge shot that put us up three. From there, we outscored (Owen Valley) 25-14 in the fourth.”
Hunter opened the fourth quarter with a steal and layup before Brewer added two free throws to open up the largest lead of the night at 35-28.
Brewer would be a fixture at the line the rest of the quarter, knocking down 13-of-14 in the frame, while Hunter was able to take advantage of breakdowns from Owen Valley on offense, scoring eight points in the frame.
Tempers flared in the closing minutes after an intentional foul was called against the visitors with two minutes to play but the Tiger Cubs stayed composed and finished off a second-straight conference win in style, leading by as many as 17 points in the final minutes.
Brewer finished with 32 points while Hunter added 13 points, 11 coming in the second half while Kay led the Patriots with 18 points and Martin had 12 points.
“Ali held her effectively to nine points and was the star of the game defensively by far,” Greenlee said about sticking the sophomore on Martin. “She did a tremendous job.
“We went half-court man the whole night and Ali stuck to her all night. What a great defense job from her.”
Greencastle continues its early-season WIC swing with a trip to Brown County Friday.
The Eagles, after struggling for the past few seasons, have found renewed life with a new coach, having scored 53 and 62 points in their first two games.
“Brown County has scored some points to start this year,” Greenlee said. “We’re going to have to do some research on them and put a game plan together as they’re a different team than what we’ve seen the past couple of seasons.”
| Owen Valley | 4 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 42 |
| Greencastle | 5 | 11 | 15 | 25 | 56 |
Scoring
Owen Valley (9 2FG; 4 3FG; 12-18 FT) — Kay 18, Martin 12, Ciresi 9, York 3
Greencastle (12-34 2FG; 6-24 3FG; 14-19 FT) — Brewer 32, Hunter 13, Dobbs 5, Briones 3, Plew 2, Johnson 1
Greencastle Statistics
Rebounds — 36 (10 offensive) (Brewer 14, Morales 6, Dobbs 5, Hunter 5); Assists — 8 (Dobbs 3, Briones 2, Brewer 2); Steals — 14 (Dobbs 4, Hunter 4, Brewer 3); Turnovers — 13; Blocks — 1 (Brewer); Fouls — 16