PUTNAM COUNTY GIRLS' BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT: Cougars use depth to down Clovers in opener

Cloverdale's Emily Mann (right) is hounded in the backcourt by North Putnam defenders Hailee Daigle (left) and Melanie Davies (2) during the opening game of the Putnam County Girls' Basketball Tournament Friday night at South Putnam. Mann would finish with 14 points for the Clovers but the numbers game added up for the Cougars in a 50-36 win to advance to finals Saturday night.

Banner Graphic/TRENT SCOTT

The weight of numbers told a story in the opening act of the Putnam County Girls’ Basketball Tournament Friday night.

North Putnam’s deep lineup allowed it to bring in fresh players throughout the evening, wearing down a Cloverdale team that kept plugging away but was unable to close a nine-point first-quarter deficit in a 50-36 loss.

“It looked like we hadn’t played a game in a week,” North Putnam head coach Curtis Lawrence said. “We were a little rusty and Cloverdale played its heart out, as we knew it would.

“It took us a while to get going. Our press did what it was supposed to do, which was to get us some easy looks. There are some things we need to clean up before Saturday night and we’ve got a little time to do that.”

“We started terrible,” Cloverdale head coach James Wade said. “(North Putnam’s) press hurt us and I have to do a better job of getting the girls in a better position to be successful.

“Our girls played hard. We got it down to seven points late in the second quarter then we gave up a 5-0 run to go down 11 at the break.”

Lexi Daigle opened the scoring with a three-point play while sister Hailee Daigle scored off a steal for a quick 5-0 lead.

Emily Mann hit a three for the first Cloverdale bucket but was answered by Sammi Hoops on the other end while a steal and score from Lexi Daigle made it 10-3.

Amilia Haga hit a three to make it a four-point game but a late Melanie Davies basket and three from Jenna Day gave the Cougars a 15-6 lead after the opening eight minutes.

Jacy Huffman and Mann traded off threes early in the second period before a lull in the scoring took hold, eventually broken by a pair of Mackenzie Mason putbacks that extended the North Putnam lead to 22-9.

Six straight points from the Clovers halved the deficit as Mann and Haga scored around a Sarah Nichols basket in the post.

North Putnam responded by picking up the pressure with its press, speeding up Cloverdale and getting baskets from Jasmine Duvall, Day and Huffman to push the lead back out to 13, eventually taking a 28-17 lead into halftime.

Having platooned his lineup for the first few games of the season, Lawrence said getting and maintaining a steady lead was a priority early on, even with eight players scoring in the opening half.

“We wanted to get off to a good start, so we kept our main seven or eight kids in early on to build the lead up,” Lawrence said. “We could then make those subs knowing there was another game to come.”

A 10-0 start to the second half effectively took the game out of the reach of Cloverdale as Lexi Daigle hit a jumper, Rose Haste drove in for a basket and Hoops hit back-to-back threes.

Lexi Daigle added six more points in the quarter for the Cougars as the lead increased to as much as 22 in the period, settling at 45-28 after three quarters of play.

Play became scattered as fatigue set in for the Clovers while North Putnam, not having played since Nov. 9, eased off the accelerator but lost some of its sharpness as a result.

“We don’t have a deep bench. The girls play their guts out; we just have to find ways to execute better,” Wade noted as the team was 0-for-12 from inside the arc in the final quarter. “We just need to work on getting better.”

Cloverdale was able to bring the lead down to 11 but couldn’t make any more inroads as both teams combined for only two field goals in the final period, both threes from the Clovers.

North Putnam scored all five of its points in the period at the free throw line, saving what had otherwise been a poor night at the stripe.

“Free throws are definitely one of those things,” Lawrence noted. “We were 7-of-19 from the line and that’s something we’ve stressed this year. It’s a different ball game if we do that.”

Lexi Daigle led all scorers with 17 points while Mann had 14 and Haga 10 for Cloverdale, though only four Clovers scored where the Cougars had nine players contribute at least one basket on the night.

Scoring

Cloverdale (8-33 2FG; 5-15 3FG; 5-12 FT) — Mann 14, A. Haga 10, Nichols 9, G. Haga 3

North Putnam (14-29 2FG; 5-22 3FG; 7-19 FT) — L. Daigle 17, Hoops 9, Day 5, Huffman 5, Mason 4, H. Daigle 3, Duvall 3, Davies 2, Haste 2

Statistics