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PUTNAM COUNTY GIRLS' BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT FINAL: Eagles make move in third quarter, win second county title in four years
It took a little time for North Putnam and South Putnam to get out of first gear in the championship game of the Putnam County Girls’ Basketball Tournament Saturday night.
Both teams got moving in the second quarter but the Eagles hit top speed in the third quarter, making their first six shots of the period, to turn a six-point halftime lead into a 49-32 win, the school’s second county title in four years.
“The way (North Putnam) likes to play the game, you get into a helter skelter movement,” South Putnam head coach Brian Gardner said. “In the first half, we missed some shots early but defensively, we were very good at getting out to shooters.
“Once the ball started going through a little bit, we started to get some confidence and started to do some things and, once we finally started to settle down, we were less hesitant against their press.”
“Credit to South Putnam as they did a great job defensively on us,” North Putnam head coach Curtis Lawrence said. “We called an early timeout early on in the game because we weren’t getting shots.
“We were behind 8-4 after a quarter thanks to a couple of threes but we weren’t getting looks or turning the ball over and that’s thanks to South Putnam. They played a tremendous game and took us out of some of what we consider to be our strengths. They deserved the win.”
Both teams threw themselves into the game on the defensive side, leading to a prolonged early stalemate until Drew Gardner hit two free throws near the midway point of the first quarter.
Lexi Daigle scored the first basket of the game, adding a jumper shortly thereafter, and with two minutes to play, North Putnam held a 4-2 lead.
Danae Cline and Lilly Emmerich hit back-to-back threes inside the final 120 seconds of the period to give the hosts an 8-4 lead and a confidence boost to start the second quarter.
“It was big,” Gardner said of the boost from the late threes. “You need that momentum shift and confidence booster.
“Now, not every possession isn’t as tight. If you make a mistake, it’s not such a major thing and we did a good job with that aspect.”
Chlara Pistelli and Mia Wells added three free throws to the ledger before a Madison Gardner putback and three from Lyla Rissler turned a three-point gap into an 11-point lead at 16-5.
Jenna Day finally broke the 8-0 run with a jumper, followed by a three from Hailee Daigle and a floater from Rose Haste, cutting the lead down to 16-12.
Madison Gardner and Hailee Daigle traded baskets as the half wound down while Cline added two free throws off a steal in the closing second to give the hosts a 20-14 lead at the break.
North Putnam’s press became more aggressive to start the second half and, while forcing seven turnovers in total, became a feast or famine effort as when South Putnam broke through, a basket soon followed as the hosts hit their first six attempts of the period.
“We struggled with that,” Lawrence said about being unable to capitalize on the created turnovers. “We were down 20-14 at halftime, so I couldn’t complain about the defense.
“When we would get a turnover, though, we missed the shot or gave it right back. That’s a credit to South Putnam and Brian for getting his girls ready to play tonight.”
Pistelli scored twice around a Drew Gardner layup as the Eagles doubled their halftime lead to 26-14 two minutes into the third quarter.
Hailee Daigle hit a three, Haste hit a free throw and Lexi Daigle scored on the inside as the Cougars brought the lead back to single digits briefly.
A three-point play from Pistelli kickstarted a 9-0 run to close the quarter with the junior scoring seven of the nine points as the hosts held a commanding 37-20 lead after three quarters of play.
“When (North Putnam) pressures, everyone is up,” Gardner said about getting the better of the Cougar press in the third quarter. “Once we got through it in several different areas and had the opportunity in front of us to score.
“We got stronger against the press as the game went on and that will help us in a couple of weeks when we see them again.”
Pistelli capped a game-high 16-point performance with four more points early in the fourth quarter to push the lead to its high point at 43-23 while Lexi Daigle had six of her team-high 12 points in the final period as South Putnam claimed the county title and the Putnam County Paddle in the process.
Both teams play once more before Thanksgiving Break and will meet again in two weeks back on the floor at South Putnam on Dec. 1.
“As I reminded the kids, in the big picture, losing county is not fun, but it is game seven of the season,” Lawrence said. “We’ve still got a long way to go.”
“We’re really excited for the girls,” Gardner said about winning the tournament, his second as coach of the Eagles. “It’s about them and their opportunity.
“We’re super proud of them, the effort they gave, the chance for them to cut down the nets and to have this experience for them.”
| North Putnam | 4 | 10 | 6 | 12 | 32 |
| South Putnam | 8 | 12 | 17 | 12 | 49 |
Scoring
North Putnam (9=32 2FG; 3-27 3FG; 5-7 FT) — L. Daigle 12, H. Daigle 8, Day 5, Haste 4, Osburn 3
South Putnam (14-33 2FG; 3-10 3FG; 12-13 FT) — Pistelli 16, Cline 9, D. Gardner 8, M. Gardner 6, Rissler 3, Emmerich 3, Wells 2, Kempf 2
Statistics
| … | North Putnam | South Putnam |
| D. Rebounds | 14 | 22 |
| O. Rebounds | 12 | 6 |
| Assists | 5 | 9 |
| Steals | 13 | 8 |
| Turnovers | 29 | 27 |
| Fouls | 14 | 11 |
| Blocks | 1 | 1 |