SOUTH PUTNAM GIRLS' BASKETBALL SECTIONAL: Eagles catch turnover bug in loss to Mounties

South Putnam freshman Mia Wells (right) knocks down a three during the second quarter of Wednesday night's IHSAA Girls' Basketball Class 2A Sectional No. 44 opener against Southmont. Wells scored five quick points in the period to keep the Eagles hanging around but 33 turnovers on the night were too many to overcome as the Mounties advanced with a 45-35 win over the hosts.

Banner Graphic/TRENT SCOTT

If you are going to make shots in a basketball game, you have to get shots. If you turn the ball over to the other team you do not get chances to score.

The South Putnam Eagles turned the ball over 33 times against a fierce Southmont press in the IHSAA Girls’ Basketball Class 2A Sectional No. 44 opener for both teams at South Putnam high school.

The Eagles never found a rhythm against the Mounties and Southmont used a big third quarter to defeat the Eagles 45-35 to advance in the tournament and avenge a 49-41 loss to the Eagles back on Nov. 20.

The Mounties outscored the Eagles 17-9 in the pivotal third quarter and will now take on the Parke Heritage Wolves on Friday night. The win improved them to 14-8 and gave them their seventh win in their last eight games.

The Eagles’ season ended with a 12-11 record.

“We only have one senior. Jolly (Joscelyn Pilcher) has been out most of the year (ACL injury). She still brought us a lot of leadership. We told them in the locker room you cannot win games with that many turnovers and giving up that many offensive rebounds. We also told them that we hope they learn from this game,” South Putnam head coach Brian Gardner said.

Despite early turnovers the Eagles led 5-2 with more than half of the first period complete as Danae Cline hit a three-pointer and a jumper early.

The Mounties went on a 10-2 run as the Eagles struggled to get the ball across the midcourt line. When Southmont forced a turnover, if they did not make the easy layup, they picked up an offensive rebound for a putback.

DeLorean Mason had eight of her game-high 17 points in the quarter as the point of the press.

South did not fare much better in the second quarter, turning the ball over nine more times.

The Eagles did find a spark in the quarter. Trailing 16-14, Mia Wells scored five points in a minute span to go along with four rebounds in the period.

Her jumper cut the lead to 20-19, but the Mounties were able to keep the lead at 23-20 going to the intermission.

“Mia was big tonight. She came into the game and did a lot of things we needed and was instrumental in us keeping it close. I felt pretty good having that many turnovers and only down three (23-20) at halftime,” Gardner said.

Halftime did not deter the Mountie defensive pressure. The Eagles turned the ball over on their first three possessions of the second half and the Mounties began to pull away as they were able to put up 20 shots in the quarter.

The Eagles began to fall behind as they repeatedly allowed Southmont to get second-chance opportunities and South Putnam would only hit 3-of-10 shots in the quarter.

The Mounties closed the quarter with an 11-4 run and a 40-29 lead. The Mounties would need those offensive boards because they hit just 7-of-20 shots in the quarter and only 29 percent for the game.

“I thought that in the half court, our defensive was pretty good tonight,” Gardner said.

The Eagles would not close the gap much in the fourth period. South would cut the lead to 43-33 with 2:50 left on a Cline jumper, but that was as close as the game would get as the Eagle offense, whenever it did not turn the ball over, was not effective.

Southmont would slow the game down late and extend their season with the 45-35 win.

“Offensively, we just weren’t doing what we needed to. We worked on the press, but even when we got the ball up the court, their pressure bothered us,” Gardner said.

Southmont was led in scoring by Mason with 17 and Layla Gomez added 10 points and 12 rebounds.

The Eagles were led by Cline and Chlara Pistelli with nine points each.

SOUTHMONT (45) – Link 3-12 0-4 7, Shaw 1-3 0-0 2, Mason 6-19 4-6 17, Jenkins 3-6 0-4 6, Gomez 4-14 2-2 10, Gray 0-3 0-2 0, Kessler 0-1 2-2 2, Williams 0-1 1-2 1. Totals 17-59 FG, 9-22 FT, 45 TP.

SOUTH PUTNAM (35) – Cline 3-8 2-2 9, D. Gardner 2-9 0-2 6, Pistelli 1-4 7-10 9, Rissler 1-7 0-0 2, M. Gardner 1-1 0-0 2, Wellls 2-3 2-4 7, Emmerich 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 10-32 FG, 11-18 FT, 35 TP.

3-point shooting – SHS 2-12 (Link 1-5, Mason 1-7), SP 4-16 (Cline 1-2, D. Gardner 2-8, Rissler 0-5, Wells 1-1) Rebounds – SHS 37 (Link 5, Shaw 5, Mason 1, Jenkins 4, Gomez 12, Gray 3, Kessler 1, Williams 1), SP – 36 (Cline 5, D. Gardner 7, Pistelli 5, Rissler 6, M. Gardner 2, Wells 6) FG Pct. – SHS 28.8, SP 31.2. FT Pct. – SHS 40.9, SP 61.1. Turnovers – SHS 17, SP 33.