SOUTH PUTNAM GIRLS' BASKETBALL SECTIONAL: Tiger Cubs win the rubber match, eliminate Cougars from postseason

Greencastle's Sarah Simmerman provided a spark for the Tiger Cub offense in the opening round of IHSAA Girls' Basketball Class 2A Sectional No. 44 play, leading the team with 12 points, including five late points in the second quarter to take a 20-9 lead over North Putnam into halftime, in a 39-33 win over the Cougars to advance to Friday's first semifinal against Riverton Parke.

Banner Graphic/TRENT SCOTT

There was no lack of hustle or effort from either Greencastle or North Putnam in the opening game of ISHAA Girls’ Basketball Class 2A Sectional No. 44 play.

There was a lack of offense early on as both the Tiger Cubs and Cougars couldn’t get the ball to go through the hoop with any regularity.

An 11-point Greencastle lead at halftime was wiped out by the end of the third quarter by North Putnam but a 7-0 run to start the fourth quarter would provide enough cushion for the Tiger Cubs to hold off the Cougars 39-33 and advance in sectional play.

“It’s a win in my books,” Greencastle head coach Jessica Lenihan said about grinding out the sectional win. “Going into the game, the talk was about focusing on us as, the first time we played (North Putnam), we slammed the girls with information but didn’t have much time to prepare for the game, so we really overloaded them.

“This time, we had plenty of time to talk about the game. We told them it was about playing their game, keeping the intensity high, keep cheering, keep pushing and we’ll win this game.

“We struggled a bit in the third quarter but we got our intensity back up in the fourth quarter, handled the ball well and those things helped us win this game,” Lenihan added.

“We didn’t play well in the first half and a lot of that goes to Greencastle,” North Putnam head coach Curtis Lawrence said. “They did a nice job on us, we had a lot of contested shots and couldn’t get the ball inside because of their defense.

“We made a nice run in the third quarter to tie things up for us but Greencastle turned around and went on a 9-3 run to get the lead back up. You could never question our girls’ hustle or effort and they kept us in the game as long as they could. Greencastle was just the better team tonight.”

It took two minutes before Ali Dobbs was able to get the game up and running with a driving basket, points that were answered midway through the period by two Lexi Daigle free throws.

Evie Briones scored off a steal while Aleeyah Johnson and Sarah Simmerman added a free throw each, the latter converting on a putback basket to give Greencastle an 8-2 lead after a quarter of play.

Melanie Davies scored on a nice post move to start the second quarter but Johnson hit a jumper in reply, followed by a pair of multi-chance baskets for the Tiger Cubs from Bailey Brown and Briones to make it 13-4.

Jasmine Duvall hit the first three of the game while Daigle added two more free throws to trim the gap to four at 13-9.

Simmerman provided a big boost at the end of the half, scoring on a drive to the basket before hitting a late three to reestablish a double-digit lead at 20-9 entering halftime.

“The girls were playing with confidence,” Lenihan said of her experienced players. “We told the girls to keep the ball in the middle of the court, not out to the sides where we could get stuck, and we looked really good, like a team that wanted to with this game.”

Simmerman added another basket early in the third quarter but it would be the last points of the quarter for Greencastle.

Davies began the North Putnam rally with a free throw and basket in the post around a Sami Hoops three, followed by a Daigle basket and a three from Addi Osburn that erased the 11-point gap, tying the game at 23-23.

“We got outhustled in the first half. Greencastle got every loose ball, had 12 offensive rebounds and we didn’t put ourselves in the right position,” Lawrence said about what had to change in the second half. “We talked at halftime about coming out and running our offense, which we didn’t do in the first half.

“We wanted to be more aggressive on the defensive end, get bodies on people and pull down more rebounds. We did a better job of that in the second half.”

The Tiger Cubs, having only taken six shots in the third quarter thanks to six turnovers, settled back down when Brown scored on a putback while Briones avoided losing the ball and scored to make it 27-23.

Brown added a free throw before Simmerman scored on a drive, turning provider to Brown later to make it 32-24.

“Early on, it was tough because Sarah is a hard worker and it was about finding the times to get her into games,” Lenihan said about the freshman, who led Greencastle with 12 points on the night. “She’s grown so much over the course of the season and plays positive minutes whenever she’s in the game.

“I trust her with the ball; as a freshman, some freshmen things will happen but she stepped up tonight and it was awesome to watch.”

Fouls had piled up on both sides and the game soon turned into a contest at the free throw line.

Rose Haste hit a three that briefly closed the lead to 34-30 with a minute to play but Briones hit 5-of-6 free throws in the closing moments to steer Greencastle to Friday’s first semifinal against Riverton Parke.

Briones finished with 11 points behind Simmerman, seven points coming in the final period, while Brown scored five of her six points in the fourth quarter.

Daigle led all scorers with 16 points, 12 of which came in the second half, but only Davies had more than one basket for the Cougars on the night.

Scoring

Greencastle (11-35 2FG; 1-11 3FG; 14-24 FT) — Simmerman 12, Briones 11, Brown 6, Johnson 4, Dobbs 3, Plew 3

North Putnam (5-24 2FG; 4-31 3FG; 11-19 FT) — L. Daigle 16, Davies 5, Hoops 3, Haste 3, Osburn 3, Duvall 3

Statistics