Golden Arrows fly through Eagles

South Putnam's Lexi Phillips runs into trouble against Sullivan Friday night, a Golden Arrow defense that held the Eagles in the single digits each quarter as part of a 59-27 win.

Banner Graphic/TRENT SCOTT

South Putnam’s first girls’ basketball game in 16 days didn’t go according to plan as Sullivan plowed through the Eagles for a 59-27 win.

“(Sullivan) hit shots early and we didn’t attack the way we should have,” South Putnam head coach Brian Gardner said. “Defensively, we got lost a couple of times and they hit more shots.

“When you’re down, you have to figure out ways to get back in it. We didn’t attack north-south; we had too much east-west dribbling and while we had some good moments, overall we’ve got to learn from it and get better.”

A mixture of inside and outside threat allowed the Golden Arrows (12-6, 6-2 WIC) to start off the game with seven-straight points and eventually closed the first quarter with a 20-8 lead.

Shooting 66 percent from the field in the first half, Sullivan continued to pound away from every direction as 10 different players scored a basket by the end of the game but with only two players, Avery Wiltermood and Jacie Wilson, reaching double figures as each had 10 points.

South Putnam (6-9, 2-5 WIC) struggled to match up with the visitors’ size on the inside and the continuous ball movement as the Golden Arrows had 10 assists on 16 baskets in the opening half.

The Eagles kept a lid on the Sullivan offense in the third quarter, allowing seven points, but only got four points from Danae Cline in the period.

A late Isabelle Harris three kickstarted a 14-0 rum from the end of the third quarter to midway though the fourth quarter brought the running clock into play as a Joscelyn Pilcher three and Madison Gardner came too late to avoid the enforced clock action.

Scoring

Sullivan (14-28 2FG; 8-12 3FG; 7-11 FT) — Wiltermood 10, Wilson 10, Drake 9, Williams 8, McKinney 6, Harris 5, Grindstaff 4, Ladson 3, Kelley 2, Earley 2

South Putnam (6-18 2FG; 3-15 3FG; 6-7FT) — Cline 5, Custis 5, Pilcher 5, Gardner 4, Emmerich 3, Dooley 3, Phillips 2

Statistics