GREENCASTLE GIRLS' BASKETBALL SECTIONAL: Cougars turned over and out by Wolves

North Putnam's Rose Haste drives in for a layup during Wednesday night's sectional against Parke Heritage. Haste was one of two Cougars in double figures with 13 points in the 68-43 loss to the Wolves.

Banner Graphic/JARED JERNAGAN

The short-handed North Putnam Lady Cougars struggled to take care of the basketball or keep the Parke Heritage Wolves off the glass in their opening game of the Class 2A Sectional No. 44 at McAnally Center. North’s season came to an end with a 68-43 loss to Parke Heritage.

The Wolves outrebounded the Cougars 38-19 and forced North into 29 turnovers as North was playing without three key members of its rotation in Sammie Hoops, Melanie Davies and Jacy Huffman.

Parke Heritage broke open a tight early contest in the second quarter and picked up the win to end the Cougars’ season at 10-13. Parke Heritage improved to 19-5 and advanced to take on South Putnam in Friday night’s semifinal game.

“It was tough. We were playing short-handed and they beat us last time on the offensive boards, but we played hard,” North Putnam head coach Craig Franklin said.

A sloppy first quarter saw both teams turn the ball over a total of 17 times. Rose Haste and Lexi Daigle led the Cougars with all 11 of their points in the first quarter, nine of them coming from behind the arc, while Parke Heritage countered with Raegan Ramsay and Emma Simpson picking six points each.

The Cougars led 11-10 until a Ramsay late jumper gave the Wolves a 12-11 lead at the first break.

“We competed early. I thought we did a lot of good things early, especially on the defensive end,” Franklin said.

Parke Heritage scored the first nine points of the second quarter to take a double-digit lead at 21-11. Hailee Daigle stopped the run with a free throw and Addisyn Osburn knocked in a triple to cut the lead to six points as the Cougars recovered enough to keep the lead at a manageable 25-17 at the intermission.

The big difference in the quarter was that Parke Heritage solved its turnover issues, but North still turned the ball over nine times and got up only seven field goal attempts to the Wolves’ 16.

Parke Heritage reeled off a 10-2 run to open the second half and extend the lead to 35-19 before Haste stopped the bleeding with a trey.

Unfortunately for the Cougars, Parke Heritage’s Simpson and Ramsay continued to get good looks as the two combined for 18 of the Wolves’ 24 points in the quarter and the Cougars could not keep pace. North trailed 49-30 at the end of the third quarter.

“With a short bench tonight, our legs got really tired. I thought we competed early but just didn’t have enough as the game went on,” Franklin said.

Parke Heritage left little doubt by scoring the first eight points of the fourth quarter and ballooning the lead to 57-30 and eventually 66-34 before the benches began to empty, though the Cougars did manage to cut the lead back to 68-43 as the final margin.

Parke Heritage placed three players in double figures. Simpson had 26 points, while Ramsay picked up a double-double with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Reaghan Benjamin contributed 10 for the Wolves. Lexi Daigle had 14 for the Cougars, and Haste added 13.

Senior Kyndal Brewer played her last game as a Cougar and Franklin could not be more pleased with her contribution to the program.

“Kyndal has been a great influence for four years. I have only been able to coach her for one, but she is a leader and a vocal leader for this group, which is what they needed. She is a great softball player and I am excited to see what she does next,” Franklin said.

PARKE HERITAGE (68) –Jenkins 1-3 0-0 2, Simpson 12-23 0-0 26, Ramsay 8-13 7-7 23, O’Brien 1-3 0-1 3, Perkins 0-6 4-4 4, Benjamin 5-9 0-0 10, Batty 0-0 0-0 0, McCormick 0-0 0-0 0, Patton 0-0 0-0 0, Hartman 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 27-60 FG, 11-12 FT, 68 TP.

NORTH PUTNAM (43) – Haste 5-10 0-0 13, Osburn 1-5 4-4 7, Brewer 0-3 2-2 2, H. Daigle 1-6 3-4 5, L. Daigle 5-13 0-0 14, Mason 0-0 0-0 0, Huffman 0-0 0-0 0, Day 0-0 0-0 0, Hackleman 0-1 2-2 0. Totals 12-38 FG, 11-12 FT, 43 TP.

3-point shooting – PH 3-16 (Simpson 2-7, O’Brien 1-3, Perkins 0-5, Benjamin 0-1), NP 8-20 (Haste 3-6, Osburn 1-3, Brewer 0-2, H. Daigle 0-1, L. Daigle 4-8) Rebounds – PH 38 (Jenkins 7, Hartman 3, Simpson 4, Ramsay 11, O’Brien 3, Perkins 1, Benjamin 7) NP – 19 (Haste 3, Osburn 2, Brewer 3, Hackleman 3, H. Daigle 2, L. Daigle 3, Mason 1) FG Pct. – PH 45.0, NP 31.6. FT Pct. – PH 91.7, NP 91.7. Turnovers – PH 18, NP 29.