Eagles see off Clovers to advance to county tourney final

Cloverdale's Andrea Nees finds no way through the outstretched arms of South Putnam's Emmalyn Jeter during Friday night's first game of the Putnam County Girls' Basketball Tournament. The Clovers stayed within touching distance most of the night but eventually fell to the Eagles 60-43

Banner Graphic/TRENT SCOTT

CLOVERDALE - The South Putnam Eagles used a 33-point second half and 25 points from Kelsey Custis to outlast a pesky Cloverdale Clover team 60-43 in the first game of the Putnam County Girls’ Basketball Tournament.

The host Clovers came out playing extremely hard and after five-straight points from Emily Mann, held a slim 5-3 lead well into the first quarter.

South was struggling from the field and finding rhythm. Late in the period, three balls from Lillian Emmerich and Custis gave South the lead back. Custis added a late basket to edge out to a six-point advantage at 11-5.

The Eagles started to pull away, going on a 11-4 run to start the second, hitting two more from behind the arc in that stretch. Mann went back to work for the Clovers, scoring 12 in the first half, trying to keep them in the game. After a three from Mann they were back within seven.

Custis answered right back with a three of her own. Two free throws from Kiersten Wade kept the Eagle lead within single digits before the break, as South led 27-19 at intermission.

The scrappy Cloverdale team kept in contact through the first portion of the third. After a pair of Mann foul shots, the Clovers were still within seven.

The Eagles from that point started to get things rolling again. The offense started executing, finding open looks and crashing the boards. When Ariel Dooley drained a three near the end of the period, suddenly they were up 15.

“I think our press started to wear them down a little bit, we finally started to attack. We finally started to set into the atmosphere,” Eagle coach Brian Gardner said.

Cloverdale continued to play hard but could get no closer than 12 in the fourth quarter. South finished with its most efficient period, hitting 5-of-9 field goals and 5-of-7 foul shots to maintain their cushion and close out with a 60-43 victory.

“With the effort we had tonight, we probably wouldn’t be 0-4. South’s a great team. Custis was knocking down shots, but our girls fought. It’s going to take time. We are very young, but we are going to be patient,” said Cloverdale coach James Wade.

South Putnam moves to 3-2 on the season. Custis with the big night, scoring 25 and grabbing eight boards. Chlara Pistelli also was in double figures with 11.

The Clovers were led by Emily Mann with 26 points and seven rebounds. Kiersten Wade chipped in nine to the effort.

Team Stats

Individual Stats

Scoring - (SP) Custis 25, Pistelli 11, Pilcher 9, Emmerich 8, Dooley 5, Gardner 2; (CL) Mann 26, Wade 9, Nees 3, Bernard 3, Nichols 2

Rebounding - (SP) Custis 8, Pilcher 5, Pistelli 3, Emmerich 2, Dooley 2, three with 1; (CL) Mann 7, Nees 4, Yoho 4, Nichols 2, Bernard 2, three with one