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PUTNAM COUNTY GIRLS' BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT: Sharpshooting Tiger Cubs get Lenihan first win at Clovers' expense
Greencastle and Cloverdale squared off in the Putnam County Girls’ Basketball Tournament consolation game on Saturday night at South Putnam High School.
These teams had more at stake than a typical consolation game as both teams were looking for their first win and Greencastle seemed to want it more than Cloverdale on this night as the Tiger Cubs started fast and continued to have their way with the Clovers in the game en route to their 53-19 victory.
The Cubs pounded the boards with a 49-33 advantage and took almost 20 more shots, 57 to 39 from the field, as they were able to control the game.
Greencastle found the sharp-shooting Evie Briones, who had a game-high 22 points, while the Clovers could not find the basket as they hit just 18 percent (7-of-39) from the field and 23 percent (3-of-13) from the free throw line.
Combined with getting outrebounded by the large margin, the Clovers would fall to 0-6, while the Cubs would get to 1-6.
“I was just so happy for our girls with how they played and executed. We keep working hard and it was great to see us get this win. We were in a good mood and playing together,” first-year head coach Jessica Lenihan said of her first career win, downplaying her accomplishment.
The Cubs started fast as Briones nailed a trey just eight seconds into the game and added a two-point jumper to give the Cubs a 5-0 lead before Amalia Haga scored. The Cubs would then score eight-straight points, capped by an Ail Dobbs rebound basket, before Sarah Nichols ended the run with a rebound basket. Greencastle would finish the quarter with a 14-6 lead.
A 9-0 run by Greencastle to open the second quarter would give the Cubs a big double-digit lead.
Briones started it with another three-pointer, Bailey Brown would get a putback and Becca Rady added a jumper. Dobbs would cap the run with a steal and a layup forcing a Clover timeout.
Gracie Haga ended the run with a three-pointer for Cloverdale and the teams traded baskets with Greencastle eventually extending the score to a 30-12 halftime lead.
“We looked to Evie to carry us tonight. We got her some open looks; she took advantage and hit them,” Lenihan said.
The wheels really came off the Cloverdale bus in the third quarter. The Clovers could not get a basket as Greencastle’s Dobbs went to the free throw line for five points and Briones added another five points to her total, pushing the lead to 40-12 after three quarters of play.
“As far as offense, execution and playing hard goes, we just didn’t do any of those. I take responsibility as a coach for that and we talked about how we will hold people accountable for their effort and attitude,” Cloverdale head coach James Wade said.
Greencastle continued to build the lead in the fourth quarter as Dobbs started it off with another free throw, Madi Plew hitting a pair from the line and Brown adding a pair of baskets.
Cloverdale was able to offset that with an Emily Mann three-point play and a three-pointer but the Cubs built a 50-18 lead with the last of Briones’ six three-pointers in the game before the benches emptied and the teams finished the game with the Cubs being 53-19 victors.
“We will go back and work on what we need to,” Wade said.
Briones had 22 points for the Cubs while Dobbs had 11 and Brown had eight points and 14 rebounds. Mann led the Clovers with eight points as Cloverdale will be off until after the holidays when they will travel to North Putnam on Nov. 28.
The Cubs play much sooner as they play again Tuesday at Crawfordsville as part of a varsity doubleheader.
“We will try and build on this win. It is really good to get that and we are looking forward to continue getting better,” Lenihan said.
| Cloverdale | 6 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 19 |
| Greencastle | 14 | 16 | 10 | 13 | 53 |
CLOVERDALE (19) – Mann 3-12 1-1 8, G. Haga 1-6 0-0 3, A. Haga 1-11 0-2 2, Nichols 1-2 1-5 3, Ford 0-1 0-2 0, McSwine 1-3 0-0 2, Lee 0-4 0-0 0, Halloran 0-0 1-4 1, Watkins 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 7-39 FG, 3-13 FT, 19 TP.
GREENCASTLE (53) – 2-9 7-10 11, Briones 7-17 2-2 22, Plew 0-7 3-4 3, Johnson 1-5 0-0 2, Brown 4-9 0-0 8, Rady 2-6 0-0 4, Simmerman 0-2 0-0 0, Call 1-1 1-3 3, Hunsinger 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 17-57 FG, 13-19 FT, 53 TP.
3-point shooting – CHS 2-18 (Mann 1-6, G. Haga 1-6, A. Haga 0-2, Lee 0-4), GHS 6-23 (Briones 6-15, Plew 0-3, Dobbs 0-3, Rady 0-2). Rebounds – CHS 33 (Mann 3, G. Haga 4, A. Haga 2, Nichols 6, Ford 6, Lee 3) GHS – 49 (Dobbs 7, Johnson 6, Briones 5, Brown 14, Plew 10, Rady 1, Simmerman 2, Hunsinger 1) FG Pct. – CHS 17.9, GHS 29.8. FT Pct. – CHS 23.1, GHS 68.4. Turnovers – CHS 19, GHS 7.