Johnson sinks late jumper as Greencastle rocks South Putnam to claim Paddle

With just seconds to play, Greencastle's Aleeyah Johnson launches what would prove to be the game-winning jumper as the Tiger Cubs beat South Putnam 39-37, avenging a 10-point loss in the Putnam County Girls' Basketball Tournament just three weeks prior to the Eagles, and winning the Putnam County Paddle in the process.

Banner Graphic/TRENT SCOTT

It was only three weeks ago that South Putnam had handily beaten Greencastle on the opening night of the Putnam County Girls’ Basketball Tournament.

Fast forward three weeks and a game that could not have been more different than the first meeting.

Where the Eagles had led by double-digits after a quarter of play Nov. 17, the two teams were within a possession of one another through the entirety of the first three quarters.

The difference came down to one shot in the end as Aleeyah Johnson hit a 13-foot jumper with four seconds remaining to hand the Tiger Cubs a morale-boosting 39-37 win and possession of the Putnam County Paddle in the process.

“We were excited and didn’t know what to do,” Lenihan said after the team nearly walked off the floor without the Paddle in hand. “These girls have been working so hard to get that win and this win was amazing.”

“You have to give hat’s off to Greencastle as they played well enough to win,” South Putnam head coach Brian Gardner said. “We got up two possessions but turnovers kill you and we had two-straight turnovers and they hit two-straight threes off them.

“We were a little sluggish on defense, not moving as we needed to, but again, you have to give them credit.”

Greencastle got off to a quick start behind an Evie Briones three but, as would be the pattern nearly all night, South Putnam would quickly take the lead back from the hosts.

Danae Cline hit a three after a Chlara Pistelli free throw to move ahead 4-3, the teams trading the lead back and forth as Bailey Brown had a basket answered by two Madison Gardner free throws while Becca Rady and Lyla Rissler traded late threes as the Eagles led 9-8 after a quarter of play.

Cline’s jumper in the second quarter made it 11-8 before Madi Plew hit two threes for the Tiger Cubs, one answered by Drew Gardner, to tie the game at 14-14.

Madison Gardner scored in the paint before a Plew free throw and a Johnson basket put the hosts ahead near the halftime horn, only for a late Mia Wells jumper to give the visitors an 18-17 lead at the intermission.

South Putnam held an edge on the boards but Greencastle negated the rebounding disadvantage by being active defensively, securing 11 steals in the first half and 15 for the game.

“We talk all the time about having hands up, getting a touch; we had to get touches to slow down (South Putnam’s) offense,” Lenihan said. “We did that tonight. There were points where we got tired but we were moving everywhere and the girls kept fighting.

“On Tuesday night against Danville, we kept getting beat on the short corner drive on the baseline. After a couple days of practice and saying we aren’t giving them the baseline, it showed as we didn’t give it to them.”

“(Greencastle) was playing a zone and there are actions you need to take,” Gardner said about the turnovers. “It’s about angles and other things you need to do.

“We’ll call that on me. I didn’t prepare the girls enough to get to those angles and those spots.”

Madison Gardner opened the scoring in the second half with a putback before Greencastle got five-straight points off a Brown basket and Briones three to take a brief 22-20 lead as Rissler hit a three in reply.

Johnson scored late in the third quarter but a Pistelli three at the horn ensured South Putnam led at the end of a period again, taking a 26-24 advantage into the final eight minutes of play.

Drew Gardner would notch a pair of threes around a Plew free throw and it seemed the Eagles had finally broken free, leading by seven at 32-25 with under five minutes to play.

The Tiger Cubs needed two minutes to turn things back around as Briones hit a deep three from the right wing and an even deeper three from the left wing before Ali Dobbs scored off a steal to make it 33-32.

Madison Gardner scored on a putback but Dobbs answered with a three to make it 36-34 with two minutes to play.

As if on cue, Pistelli hit a three as South Putnam refused to let Greencastle lead for any length of time.

“We have a great group of girls and no matter who we’re playing, they’re always going to fight,” Gardner said about the team’s unwillingness to stay behind for long. “Any time they made a run, we made one right back until the last shot.”

Plew snagged two offensive rebounds off Briones misses in the next few seconds, one leading to a turnover but the second led to Briones being fouled on a drive, leading to the senior tying the score at 37-37 with 48 seconds remaining.

Pistelli got an offensive rebound on the next Eagle possession but was out of bounds trying to run parallel to the baseline, handing the ball to the hosts with 25 seconds left.

Greencastle was forced to use its last timeout as it was nearly trapped along the sideline but after Dobbs and Briones moved the ball from right to left, the ball was fed to the left baseline where Johnson hit nothing but net with the game-winning shot.

South Putnam had an inbounds opportunity but the ball was deflected out of bounds as time expired.

“We knew this was going to be a tough battle, one that was going to back and forth,” Lenihan said about the win. “I told the girls not to get down if (South Putnam) scores because we would bring it back.

“We kept playing. Even when they were seven up, they kept playing and brought it back. Aleeyah shot that ball with confidence and it was awesome to see.”

Scoring

South Putnam (5-25 2FG; 8-21 3FG; 3-4 FT) — D. Gardner 9, M. Gardner 8, Pistelli 7, Rissler 6, Cline 5, Wells 2

Greencastle (6-21 2FG; 8-22 3FG; 3-8 FT) — Briones 13, Plew 8, Johnson 6, Dobbs 5, Brown 4, Rady 3

Statistics