Tiger Cubs make it 10-straight by snapping Bulldogs' eight-game streak

MONROVIA – The Greencastle Lady Tiger Cubs headed to Monrovia High School on Tuesday night with a nine-game winning streak. The host Bulldogs had an eight-game streak of their own and something had to give.

The Cubs did not give an inch as they controlled the game from the outset in taking home a 64-38 victory on Branch McCracken court.

Greencastle’s man-to-man defense smothered the Bulldogs, not allowing Monrovia open looks, and the Cubs controlled the pace of the game with a team-oriented offense behind Gloria Brewer’s 31 points to improve to 18-4 on the season, while Monrovia dropped to 14-7.

“We can play defense like that. This was a really good team effort. We controlled the pace and did a lot of really good things tonight,” Greencastle head coach Doug Greenlee said.

Both teams got off to a slow offensive start, not scoring in the first two minutes, but the Cubs got hot from behind the arc.

Brewer hit two threes, and Evie Briones nailed one of her own, to spark Greencastle to a 9-1 lead. Greencastle ended up extending the lead to 17-7 at the end of the first quarter as Emma Hunter went coast-to-coast near the end of the period to give the Cubs the double-digit lead which they would never lose.

“I was worried coming in here. I knew we could win the game but I didn’t expect this. Our kids played really well against a really good basketball team,” Greenlee said.

Greencastle’s defense kept the pressure up in the second quarter. The constant attention to Brewer allowed her to distribute the basketball with two assists to open the second quarter, then a steal and layup by Emma Hunter forced a Monrovia timeout as Greencastle led 24-9 and kept pulling away.

Balanced scoring on the offensive end was the theme as Brewer had five points while Stephanie Morales and Hunter had four each as Greencastle kept building the lead.

Brewer nailed another three-pointer to end the half and give the Cubs a 33-16 lead at the intermission.

“This is a really good win heading into the tournament. I am really pleased with our effort and play,” Greenlee said.

Greencastle left little doubt in the outcome early in the third period as the Cubs outscored the Bulldogs 18-2 to open the quarter.

The quarter was very physical as the teams combined for 12 fouls and Greencastle made Monrovia pay from the line. The Cubs hit 7-of-8 at the stripe as Monrovia did itself no favors by only knocking down 3-of-8 free tosses.

Monrovia did not get its first field goal until the 2:55 mark in the quarter and Greencastle held a commanding 53-27 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Greencastle jumped the lead to 62-29 early in the final period as it consistently hit its free throws and slowed the game down to milk the clock. Late in the game, both teams emptied their benches to allow everyone to play and Greencastle was able to take a happy bus ride back home with a 64-38 victory.

“We came within a bucket or so of getting a running clock. We did so many things well tonight,” Greenlee said.

Monrovia’s Emery Newlin led the hosts in scoring with 10 points and Mary Cox and Ashley Lewis added nine each. Brewer, the state’s third leading scorer coming into the game, upped her average with 31 points, also adding nine rebounds and five assists. Briones had an efficient 11 points and Hunter added 10 for the Cubs.

Greencastle has one more tune up prior to the tournament starting on Thursday as they host South Vermillion.

GREENCASTLE (64) –Brewer 10-19 8-8 31, Briones 4-10 0-0 11, Hunter 4-10 2-2 10, Dobbs 0-2 1-2 1, Morales 2-2 0-0 4, Plew 2-7 3-4 7, Johnson 0-1 0-0 0, Brown 0-0 0-0 0, Doan 0-0 0-0 0, Camara 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-51 FG, 14-16 FT, 64 TP.

MONROVIA (38) – Cox 3-8 2-3 9, Lewis 3-11 1-2 9, Newlin 3-8 4-8 10, Young 1-6 0-0 2, Vaughn 0-0 2-4 2, Kluemper 1-1 0-2 2, Mattocks 1-1 0-0 2, Murrell 1-8 0-0 2, George 0-0 0-0 0, Inglert 0-1 0-0 0, Standeford 0-1 0-0 0, Dunagan 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 13-45 FG, 9-19 FT, 38 TP.

3-point shooting – GHS 6-17 (Brewer 3-6, Briones 3-7, Hunter 0-2, Dobbs 0-1, Plew 0-1), MHS 3-17 (Cox 1-3, Lewis 2-8, Newlin 0-2, Murrell 0-4). Rebounds – GHS 39 (Brewer 9, Briones 3, Hunter 7, Dobbs 6, Morales 3, Plew 2, Brown 1, Johnson 1) MHS – 28 (Cox 3, Lewis 5, Newlin 6, Inglert 1, Young 7, Vaughn 2, Murrell 2) FG Pct. – GHS 43.1, MHS 28.9. FT Pct. – GHS 87.5, MHS 47.4. Turnovers – GHS 15, MHS 16.

Greencastle 87, Dugger Union 33

The Tiger Cubs made it nine wins on the bounce Friday night with a win over the other set of Bulldog as Brewer matched the visitors’ scoring output and Hunter was a point shy of doing the same.

“It was a great senior night for Gloria, Emily and Stephanie,” Greenlee said. “We shot the ball extremely well, hitting 14 threes; Gloria and Emma combined for 65 points and Stephanie had 14 rebounds.”

Greencastle’s sharpshooters started early as Brewer scored 10 points while Briones added balance with a trio of triples as the hosts led 22-6 after a quarter of play.

Hunter tagged in during the second quarter, scoring 15 points with Brewer adding nine more points, stretching the lead to 50-16 at halftime.

A more balanced third quarter saw Brewer score eight points, Ali Dobbs chip in four points and Hunter and Madi Plew add a basket each as the lead reached 40 at 66-26 with eight minutes to play.

Hunter added 10 points in the final period while Brewer notched two more threes to finish off the visitors.

Brae Simpson scored 13 points for Dugger in the loss.

Scoring

Dugger Union — Simpson 13, Jo. Smith 6, Ja. Smith 3, Stahl 3, Flanders 3, Dayhoff 3, Gerig 2

Greencastle — Brewer 33, Hunter 32, Briones 11, Plew 7, Dobbs 4