Tiger Cub girls take county swim title
Friday, January 25, 2013
Greencastle's senior captains Kaitlynne Mason (center) and Kaelynn Cox celebrate winning the 2013 Putnam County girls' swimming and diving championship by claiming the trophy with head coach Kent Menzel.
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The Greencastle girls' swimming and diving team completed a local tournament sweep on Thursday, winning the 2013 Putnam County meet at South Putnam with 315 points.
The Tiger Cubs won the West Central Conference title a few weeks ago.
At the county meet South Putnam finished second with 196 and North Putnam was third with 95.
GHS had county champions in 10 of the 12 events, including wins in each of the three valuable relays.
Mallary Meyer, Emily Wheeler, Amelia Smith, Corrie Romer, Libby Brush, Amelia Smith, Rosio Gomez, Kaelynn Cox and Rachel Custis each won individual or relay victories.
"Given where we are in our plans for next week, I think they swam very, very well," GHS coach Kent Menzel said. "I was particularly happy with our relays. I thought they were on top of things tonight ... I thought they all meshed really well."
The Tiger Cubs have been relaxing their training in preparation for the start of the postseason next week.
Preliminaries for the sectional meet are Thursday night in Avon, and Menzel said he is hoping the team will be peaking at the right time.
"The girls were working on events that they're going to be swimming next week at the sectional," Menzel said. "They're where we want them to be. As the next seven days unfold, I think we'll sharpen them up quite a bit."
The Eagles had one individual champion, freshman diver Maddison Plunkett, to combine with several strong races.
"She got a little worked up; I don't know that she was happy with her performance," SPHS coach Matt Edwards said. "But I'm happy to see both her and Courtney (Sullivan) come out on top for one and two. They were first and second in both conference and county.
"That's a pretty big accomplishment. They both work very hard. They're in here morning after morning, trying to perfect things."
The Eagles' girls had mixed emotions about the meet, Edwards said, because it is the final regular season meet of the year.
"They know that this is their last 'season' kind of meet," Edwards said. "A lot of them wanted to swim their best times. And they did a heck of a job with that.
"The biggest thing I noticed tonight was just their racing. They put on some really good races. I've got to give credit to North Putnam and Greencastle, because they're good competitors, and our girls know that.
"Tonight was really about beating the girls to the left and to the right of them ... and practicing good racing. They did wonders, and I'm really proud of them."
North Putnam came through with one with individual champion as well. Elizabeth Alford swam an impressive 2:19.27 in the 200-yard freestyle, winning the race by nearly six seconds.
"The standout was Elizabeth Alford," NPHS coach Tony Gray said. "She won the county championship in the 200 and almost pulled it out in the 100. She just didn't quite have a good turn in that last wall, but she's worked really hard this year. I think the best things are in the future for her."
The Cougars have been improving steadily throughout the year and the county meet was a positive conclusion to the regular season, Gray said.
"The girls did a good job," he said. "They had fun tonight, they competed hard. Maybe the times weren't exactly where we wanted, but they just started taper.
"They're smiling so I'm smiling."
With the postseason approaching quickly, each team competing Thursday came into the meet hoping to be ready for next Thursday's sectional 11 preliminary races at Avon.
Greencastle swimmers Mallary Meyer (top) and Rachel Custis fight for the finish line in the 100-yard backstroke event on Thursday. Meyer out-touched Custis to come away with a win and secure the county championship with a time of 1:12.97.
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At South Putnam
2013 Girls' Putnam County Championship
Team score -- Final
1, Greencastle High School, 315. 2, South Putnam High School, 196. 3, North Putnam High School, 95.
Event results
Girls 200 Yard Medley Relay: 1, Greencastle High School 'A' (Meyer, Mallary , Wheeler, Emily , Smith, Amelia , Romer, Corrie ), 2:09.02. 2, South Putnam High School 'A' (Deszi, Morgan , Kiste, Katie , Beasley, Lyndsie , Hansel, Katie ), 2:21.56. 3, Greencastle High School 'B' (Mason, Kaitlynne , Hansen, Beth Ann , Cassida, Sydney , Custis, Rachel ), 2:24.25. 4, North Putnam High School 'A' (Gray, Hannah , Roberts, Lyndsay , Muse, Rebecca , Livesay, Sierra ), 2:32.93. 5, South Putnam High School 'B' (Plunkett, Maddison , Arnold, Megan , Shaw, Katie , Sutkowski, Macy ), 2:36.15.
Girls 200 Yard Freestyle: 1, Alford, Elizabeth, NPHS, 2:19.27. 2, Beasley, Katie Jo, SPHS, 2:25.22. 3, Cox, Kaelynn, GHS, 2:32.82. 4, Moore, Rebecca, GHS, 2:37.80. 5, Deszi, Morgan, SPHS, 2:38.18. 6, Stevens, Kristen, GHS, 2:39.32. 7, Wilson, Ashley, SPHS, 2:46.48. 8, Roberts, Jessica, GHS, 2:53.08. 9, Mason, Kaitlynne, GHS, 2:53.11. 10, Frieje, Samantha, NPHS, 2:53.98. 11, Buchanon, Rorie, NPHS, 3:20.75.
Girls 200 Yard Individual Medley: 1, Brush, Elizabeth, GHS, 2:38.92. 2, Wheeler, Emily, GHS, 2:45.24. 3, Gomez, Rosio, GHS, 2:47.16. 4, Kiste, Katie, SPHS, 3:02.81. 5, Arnold, Megan, SPHS, 3:05.18. 6, Hansen, Beth Ann, GHS, 3:06.64. 7, Muse, Rebecca, NPHS, 3:08.45. 8, Kelley, Tasha, SPHS, 3:30.12.
Girls 50 Yard Freestyle: 1, Smith, Amelia, GHS, 28.12. 2, Romer, Corrie, GHS, 28.13. 3, Custis, Rachel, GHS, 29.35. 4, Hansel, Katie, SPHS, 30.03. 5, Moore, Alexandra, NPHS, 32.55. 6, Kiste, Tori, SPHS, 32.74. 7, Livesay, Sierra, NPHS, 33.17. 8, Brattain, Hannah, GHS, 34.94. 9, Gray, Hannah, NPHS, 36.03. 10, Hettich, Michayla, SPHS, 36.36. 11, Fauvergue, Madi, GHS, 39.93. 12, McDaniel, Erin, NPHS, 41.37.
Girls 1 meter Diving: 1, Plunkett, Maddison, SPHS, 138.75. 2, Sullivan, Courtney, SPHS, 136.15. 3, Cassida, Sydney, GHS, 112.35. 4, Fauvergue, Madi, GHS, 106.65.
Girls 100 Yard Butterfly: 1, Gomez, Rosio, GHS, 1:12.82. 2, Meyer, Mallary, GHS, 1:13.32. 3, Beasley, Lyndsie, SPHS, 1:22.94. 4, Shaw, Katie, SPHS, 1:34.69. 5, Muse, Rebecca, NPHS, 1:35.16. 6, Kelley, Tasha, SPHS, 1:38.21. 7, Roberts, Jessica, GHS, 1:42.97.
Girls 100 Yard Freestyle: 1, Romer, Corrie, GHS, 1:03.28. 2, Smith, Amelia, GHS, 1:03.35. 3, Alford, Elizabeth, NPHS, 1:04.17. 4, Cox, Kaelynn, GHS, 1:04.46. 5, Beasley, Katie Jo, SPHS, 1:05.90. 6, Kiste, Tori, SPHS, 1:12.70. 7, Moore, Alexandra, NPHS, 1:14.71. 8, Sutkowski, Macy, SPHS, 1:15.54. 9, Livesay, Sierra, NPHS, 1:17.89. 10, Roberts, Lyndsay, NPHS, 1:22.59. 11, Anderson, Caitlyn, GHS, 1:24.37. 12, McDaniel, Erin, NPHS, 1:37.24.
Girls 500 Yard Freestyle: 1, Brush, Elizabeth, GHS, 6:29.86. 2, Hansel, Katie, SPHS, 6:50.70. 3, Moore, Rebecca, GHS, 7:00.62. 4, Wilson, Ashley, SPHS, 7:16.07. 5, Stevens, Kristen, GHS, 7:16.93. 6, Frieje, Samantha, NPHS, 7:57.06. 7, Wolf, Autumn, NPHS, 8:00.19. 8, Buchanon, Rorie, NPHS, 9:34.65.
Girls 200 Yard Freestyle Relay: 1, Greencastle High School 'A' (Wheeler, Emily , Cox, Kaelynn , Romer, Corrie , Smith, Amelia ), 1:54.27. 2, South Putnam High School 'A' (Beasley, Katie Jo , Shaw, Katie , Beasley, Lyndsie , Hansel, Katie ), 2:02.82. 3, North Putnam High School 'A' (Alford, Elizabeth , Livesay, Sierra , Moore, Alexandra , Muse, Rebecca ), 2:05.87. 4, Greencastle High School 'B' (Roberts, Jessica , Mason, Kaitlynne , Gomez, Rosio , Moore, Rebecca ), 2:11.03. 5, South Putnam High School 'B' (Kiste, Tori , Arnold, Megan , Kiste, Katie , Sutkowski, Macy ), 2:13.71.
Girls 100 Yard Backstroke: 1, Meyer, Mallary, GHS, 1:12.97. 2, Custis, Rachel, GHS, 1:13.43. 3, Cassida, Sydney, GHS, 1:14.95. 4, Deszi, Morgan, SPHS, 1:18.02. 5, Plunkett, Maddison, SPHS, 1:28.02. 6, Gray, Hannah, NPHS, 1:30.48. 7, Wolf, Autumn, NPHS, 1:31.89.
Girls 100 Yard Breaststroke: 1, Wheeler, Emily, GHS, 1:22.68. 2, Hansen, Beth Ann, GHS, 1:25.47. 3, Brattain, Hannah, GHS, 1:27.87. 4, Kiste, Katie, SPHS, 1:35.30. 5, Roberts, Lyndsay, NPHS, 1:36.68. 6, Anderson, Caitlyn, GHS, 1:39.64. 7, Mason, Kaitlynne, GHS, 1:39.69. 8, Arnold, Megan, SPHS, 1:40.44.
Girls 400 Yard Freestyle Relay: 1, Greencastle High School 'A' (Brush, Elizabeth , Custis, Rachel , Cox, Kaelynn , Gomez, Rosio ), 4:32.88. 2, South Putnam High School 'A' (Beasley, Katie Jo , Shaw, Katie , Kiste, Tori , Beasley, Lyndsie ), 4:42.74. 3, Greencastle High School 'B' (Stevens, Kristen , Moore, Rebecca , Cassida, Sydney , Meyer, Mallary ), 4:42.95. 4, South Putnam High School 'B' (Wilson, Ashley , Kelley, Tasha , Plunkett, Maddison , Sutkowski, Macy ), 5:22.04. 5, North Putnam High School 'A' (Alford, Elizabeth , Moore, Alexandra , Frieje, Samantha , Wolf, Autumn ), 5:25.06.
No. 1 Tigers rely on roles unspoken
Thursday, January 24, 2013
DePauw senior Ellie Pearson does the dirty work inside for the Tigers, but each player knows her role.
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As the top-ranked DePauw University women's basketball team continued it dominant season by totally dismantling Wittenberg on Wednes-day, it became clear that the Tigers are capable of becoming more than a great team, but a legendary one.
DPU is more than just a collection of great players, though it is most certainly that. But it isn't their talent that makes the Tigers special, it's how perfectly constructed they are.
Their individual talents complement one another perfectly. Each player in the rotation has a specific role, tailored perfectly to her skills, and she rarely deviates from it.
"I think we really rely on people accepting roles on this team," DePauw coach Kris Huffman said. "We're looking for people that have that team mentality and selflessness."
As senior Ellie Pearson describes it, the team doesn't talk about roles, it's just a natural progression of how they all play.
"They're kind of unspoken roles," Pearson said. "We don't have any determined roles, but they're kind of known, if that makes sense."
Senior point guard Kate Walker sets the tone for the team -- passing before shooting, looking for open shooters as she attacks the lane -- but she isn't the lone leader.
Pearson is the team's leading rebounder, averaging nearly eight per game (in limited time).
She needs to average a little more than 15 rebounds per game for the rest of the season to set the DePauw career rebounding record, something she is capable of -- were she given the minutes -- but something she won't do because the team is too good for her to play enough.
(None of the starters gets more than 23 minutes per game. The Tigers blow out nearly every opponent. They learn more about execution in practice than they do in games. Echoing the UCLA men's teams of the late 60s, the only team that's physically a match for the DPU starters in the DPU bench.)
Junior Alex Gasaway is the team's leading scorer, utilizing an assortment of DeJuan Blair-like post moves to fight through contact and provide the team it's inside offensive threat.
Junior Ali Ross is the team's defensive stopper. She picks up the opposing point guard full court, hounding her opponent relentlessly.
The fifth starter, sophomore Savannah Trees, is an electric scorer capable of knocking down shots from the outside (she makes better than 50 percent of her threes) or putting the ball on the floor and knocking down a runner in the lane.
"On any given night anyone could go off for 20," Pearson said. "It's just kind of fun sitting in the locker room before the game thinking, 'All right, who is it going to be tonight?' Someone always steps up, but then if you go and look at our team it's very balanced scoring (averages)."
Each of the players is capable of more -- Walker, Ross and even Gasaway are capable of stepping outside and knocking down open threes, "In the flow of the game," Gasaway says; Pearson leads the Tigers in blocks and steals (she had four of each on Wednesday) -- but they never deviate, always staying within themselves.
The roles go beyond the starters.
Junior Alison Stephens would start for any other team in the country. She's and inside-outside scoring threat who is also second on the team in rebounds.
Senior Kat Molloy picks up the defensive pressure when Ross goes to the bench.
It goes on.
Whatever five-woman unit the Tigers have on the court, each player falls into her lane.
The players' willingness to take a step back with her personal numbers to help the team makes the difference between a great team and a legendary one.
It's why Butler made consecutive championship games and why the Los Angeles Lakers -- with four likely Hall of Famers -- are on pace to miss the NBA playoffs.
The players on DePauw's basketball team are very good, maybe even great. The team is phenomenal.
DPU women move to 18-0 by rolling past Wittenberg
Thursday, January 24, 2013
By halftime against Wittenberg, the only thing in question for the DePauw women's basketball team was whether or not it would double-up the score of its opponent. The host Tigers did exactly that, winning 74-37.
"We never go into a game (preparing) like we're better than an opponent. Coach (Huffman) always prepares us the same -- same scouting report, same amount of film, same prep during practice," DPU junior Alex Gasaway said. "But our goal is always to bury them."
Gasaway had a season-high 27 points against Wittenberg despite playing only 18 minutes.
"She had a nice game," Tigers coach Kris Huffman said. "She's coming off having the flu, so it was a good performance. And she wanted the ball, which was nice to see."
DePauw started the game slow, at least by its standards, leading by only two (16-14) with 10:44 left in the first half.
They rolled from there, finishing the half on a 20-4 run to take a 36-18 lead into the break.
Gasaway scored 11 in the first half, then continued where she left off in the second, attacking the basket and getting to the line. She mad 12-of-13 free throws in the game.
"I expect contact when I go in for layups or shots down low, but I don't typically expect for them to call it," Gasaway said. "Sometimes they call it, sometimes they don't. But I expect contact."
The win was DePauw's 43rd straight regular season victory, adding one more to the school-record to start a season. The Tigers are now 18-0.
They'll return to action Saturday when they host Ohio Wesleyan at 1 p.m.
DePauw junior Alex Gasaway pulls in a rebound over Wittenberg on Tuesday. She scored a game- and season-high 27 points.
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At DePauw
Wittenberg 18 19 -- 37
DePauw 36 38 -- 74
Individual scoring
Wittenberg (8-9, 4-4 NCAC): Rice 3-10 1-2 8, Haralamos 2-8 2-2 6, Lara 2-7 1-2 5, Daniel-Hamberg 2-8 1-2 5, Schroeder 2-3 1-2 5, Replogle 2-5 0-0 4, Skidmore 1-5 0-0 2, Miller 1-3 0-0 2.
DePauw (18-0, 9-0): Gasaway 7-11 12-13 27, Trees 5-9 0-0 11, Stephens 3-7 1-1 8, Molloy 2-4 2-2 7, Pearson 2-6 1-5 5, Walker 2-3 0-0 4, Ross 1-4 1-2 3, Ondik 1-2 0-0 3, Abendroth 1-4 0-0 3, Keller 0-1 2-2 2, McDonagh 0-0 1-2 1, Sarkisian 0-1 0-0 0, Stoner 0-0 0-0 0, Skordos 0-2 0-0 0, Hacker 0-1 0-0 0, Lukemeyer 0-2 0-1 0, Francis 0-0 0-0 0.
Team scoring (three-pointers)
Wittenberg 15-49 (1-15) 6-10 37, DePauw 24-57 (6-13) 20-28 74.
Rebounds (offensive)
Wittenberg 30 (9), DePauw 40 (15).
Turnovers
Wittenberg 23, DePauw 11.
Last-second shot helps Warriors knock out NPHS
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Turkey Run junior Jordan Goddard pulls up for her game-winning layup, shooting over North Putnam juniors Bethany Wiatt (5) and Madi Asbell to get the win.
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ROACHDALE -- Big Ten fans know that in a slow-paced, every-possession-matters-more kind of game, every mistake and every success is magnified.
So when Turkey Run junior Jordan Goddard sank a layup from the right block as time expired to give her team a 33-32 win at North Putnam, the Cougars had numerous plays they could point to as a culprit.
North Putnam (4-14, 0-3 WCC) had several success on Tuesday: senior Sam Lucas scored 16 points and grabbed 13 rebounds; junior Bethany Wiatt had seven steals, to go along with her seven points; the squad had only 14 turnovers.
But the positives were balanced out by what the Warriors did well: winning the rebound battle 34-29; slowing the game down to their pace.
Most importantly, though, Turkey Run had the ball last.
"I told the girls at halftime that (Turkey Run) was going to try to slow the game down and keep the tempo down and make it low possession," NPHS coach Curtis Lawrence said. "When we see a short bench (Turkey Run dressed six players), we want to try to pick the tempo up."
As Turkey Run (2-17) slowed the pace of the game down to a crawl, the Cougars couldn't ever seem to inject energy.
The crisp, decisive passing of the Warriors negated the NPHS press, and falling back on defense meant sitting in a zone and waiting Turkey Run to make a mistake.
The Cougars capitalized in spurts, but that meant building a lead up to only five.
As the clock ticked away late in the fourth quarter, the Cougars up one point, it seemed like the Warriors would work it down for the last shot.
Turkey Run had tried to burn the final forty seconds of the third quarter in the Four Corners offense, but it turned the ball over late.
As Wiatt dove on a loose ball, the game tied with 11 seconds left in the fourth, they repeated their mistake.
Wiatt tied the ball up and the possession arrow pointed for North Putnam.
Lucas was fouled on the inbounds and sank one-of-two free throws to take the lead with 3.2 seconds remaining.
After a timeout, the Warriors took the ball out on the sideline near half court.
"It was a poor coaching move on my part at the end," Lawrence said. "I shouldn't have had (senior Cayla Kientz) guarding the ball out of bounds with 3.2. I should have had her back in the middle of the lane. That kind of made everybody help."
Senior Chelsie Wood appeared trapped on the sideline but found Goddard under the basket for a layup.
Goddard finished the game with 14 points (six-of-nine from the field) and seven rebounds.
The Cougars will be back in action Friday when they host Greencastle at 6 p.m. It is also the NPHS homecoming.
At North Putnam
Turkey Run 7 5 10 11 -- 33
North Putnam 8 5 12 7 -- 32
Individual scoring
Turkey Run (2-17): Goddard 6-9 2-3 14, Grayless 3-7 1-3 7, Thompson 1-4 0-0 3, Bowling 1-5 0-0 3, Wood 0-9 3-5 3, Basan 1-2 0-0 3.
North Putnam (4-14, 0-3): Lucas 5-11 6-8 16, Wiatt 3-6 1-2 7, Smith 3-10 0-2 6, Asbell 1-7 0-2 2, Kientz 0-1 1-2 1, Nauert 0-2 0-0 0, Aynes 0-3 0-0 0, Land 0-0 0-0 0.
Team scoring (three-pointers)
TR 12-37 (3-12) 6-12 33, NP 12-39 (0-0) 8-16 32.
Rebounds (offensive)
TR 34 (12), NP 29 (11).
Turnovers
TR 20, NP 14.
South Putnam has frustrating second half in loss to Bruins
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
South Putnam junior Sawyer Arnold plants and swings a crossover dribble around the Bruins on Saturday.
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LIZTON -- The South Putnam boys' basketball team was eliminated from contention for a West Central Conference championship on Friday, but it came back Saturday playing hard at Tri-West.
The teams were tight at the half but the Eagles' collective frustration seemed to get the best of them at the break as they lost 67-44.
"We haven't come out in the third quarter this year," SPHS coach Troy Burgess said. "(Friday) night against Monrovia. (It was a) one-point game after two, then a 14-point game after three. We've got to figure something out in that third quarter."
The Eagles (5-7, 1-2 WCC) trailed by only seven at the break (28-21), despite a perfect first half from the field by Bruins junior Austin Lynn (6-6, 14 points).
Instead of building, SPHS came out sloppy. The players committed nine fouls and 10 turnovers in the third quarter, then lost their defensive intensity in the fourth.
"We're not coming out with the same intensity in the third quarter that we play the first and second, and then we dig ourselves a hole," Burgess said. "I don't know. I made a joke last night about it. Maybe I don't go in and talk to them. Maybe I pour them some orange juice and let them sit."
Tri-West (6-6) made 13-of-14 free throws in the final period, and six-of-seven two-point shots, en route to a 24-point quarter.
Sophomore Trevor Waite made eight-of-eight from the line in the final quarter to help secure the win.
Waite and Lynn each finished with game-highs of 22 points.
Junior Sawyer Arnold led the Eagles with 15 points. Junior Trey Moore had nine points and eight rebounds, and senior Justin Bumgardner had three and nine.
"(Tri-West) is a good basketball team," Burgess said. "Against good teams like this, you can't dig yourself a hole."
The Eagles will host Cloverdale on Friday at 7:30 p.m. It will be South Putnam High School's homecoming.
At Tri-West
South Putnam 11 10 9 14 -- 44
Tri-West 14 14 15 24 -- 67
Individual scoring
SP: Arnold 5-13 3-3 15, Moore 2-5 6-9 10, R Chestnut 2-4 2-2 6, Vittetow 2-7 0-1 6, Pell 1-4 1-2 4, Bumgardner 1-6 1-4 3, Mitchell 0-3 0-0 0, Long 0-1 0-1 0, Franklin 0-1 0-0 0, D Chestnut 0-1 0-0 0, Snow 0-0 0-0 0.
TW: Lynn 9-11 3-5 22, Waite 6-12 10-11 22, Alexander 3-8 4-4 10, Burks 4-4 0-2 8, Hendershot 1-5 1-4 3, Phelps 1-3 0-0 2, Koelling 0-5 0-0 0, Musial 0-1 0-0 0, Stamm 0-2 0-0 0, Gadberry 0-0 0-0 0, Miller 0-0 0-0 0, Vervynckt 0-0 0-0 0.
Team scoring (three-pointers)
SP 13-45 (5-14) 13-22 44, TW 24-51 (1-15) 19-28 67.
Rebounds (offensive)
SP 41 (20), TW 19(7).
Turnovers
SP 27, TW 10.
Green stands ground in NP win over Cloverdale
Saturday, January 19, 2013
North Putnam senior Zach Green stands in the lane and braces for contact by Cloverdale junior Zach Dorman. Dorman was called for a charge that helped seal an NPHS win.
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CLOVERDALE -- As the North Putnam and Cloverdale boys' basketball teams traded baskets throughout the fourth quarter and the clock began ticking down, it was apparent that one big play would decide the game.
North Putnam senior Zach Green made that play and helped the Cougars win, 59-56.
As junior Zach Dorman slashed through the lane, down two points with 31 seconds to go, it looked like it would be his day.
Dorman's eyes widened at the sight of the rim, but he failed to see Green sliding in front of him, planting his feet and standing firm.
As Dorman's layup rattled out, a pile of Zachs clogged the floor of the lane. The official's whistle sounded as he signaled a charge.
"Zach (Green) was tremendous," NPHS coach Nathan Martindale said. "That's the best game I've seen him play. Ever. He came in, he was under control, he scored some, he was quicker than some of the (Cloverdale) guards and he was able to get into the paint and get some layups for us.
"Then he had that huge charge in the fourth quarter. That was a make-or-break situation and we got the call."
Green's play led to a shooting foul at the other end. Junior Shane Beaman made one of two, extending the lead to three.
Sophomore Brantson Scott, who tied with Dorman as the game's high-scorer with 17, answered with a layup with 10 seconds left.
The subsequent inbounds pass missed its intended target, but Brody Pfaff was called for a foul as he and NPHS junior Jordan Nauert dove after the ball.
Nauert sank the pair, putting NPHS up three with six seconds left.
"He can do whatever he wants," Martindale said. "He's the type of kid that can shoot it when he needs to. He can pass it when he needs it. We even had him on the big kid (Dorman) tonight ... He's a very versatile player for us. We can put him in many different positions. I don't know too many guys that can defend the post and go out and play point guard on the way down.
"It was a total team-effort. All eight guys played great minutes for us."
The Clovers had been in similar situations before. They entered the game 3-2 in one-possession games including a buzzer-beating shot to beat Clay City last Saturday.
Unlike the other situations, when the players were taught to drive to the basket, Cloverdale trailed NPHS by three.
CHS coach Pat Rady called for a timeout.
"We wanted to get a three-point shot," Rady said. "We had two people lined up and they covered the other one (Collet) pretty well, so we went for the three-point shot (with Scott)."
Scott's attempt rattled out and Beaman hauled in the rebound to run out the clock.
The game hadn't always been close.
Cloverdale trailed 34-23 at the break, then proceeded to go on a 19-4 run to start the third quarter. Scott and junior Kedrick Collet (seven points in the quarter) sparked the rally that had the two teams enter the fourth quarter tied at 42.
The Clovers were helped by the foul trouble of the North Putnam bigs, seniors Jameson Brewer and Jake Haste.
"Our bigs played a little tentative because of fouls, so (Cloverdale was) able to get some things that they normally wouldn't have gotten," Martindale said.
Rady said that was all part of the plan.
"When we got certain guys in foul trouble, we were trying to put (Brewer and Haste) in low-post position and force them to have to defend," Rady said. "A lot of times when a guy's got foul trouble he won't defend as well."
Green finished with 11 points and a team-high seven rebounds.
North Putnam hosts Greencastle on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Cloverdale travels to South Putnam on the same date and time.
North Putnam junior Jordan Nauert blocks a slamdunk attempt by Cloverdale junior Zach Dorman in the third quarter on Friday.
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At Cloverdale
North Putnam 16 18 8 17 -- 59
Cloverdale 10 13 19 14 -- 56
Individual scoring
North Putnam (3-10, 1-1 WCC): Brewer 8-17 0-3 16, Green 5-13 0-0 11, Hazelgrove 3-8 2-4 10, Nauert 1-6 3-4 6, Roberts 2-2 1-3 5, Beaman 1-2 1-2 4, Haste 2-6 0-0 4, Flynn 1-1 0-0 2.
Cloverdale (3-11, 0-4): Z Dorman 6-14 5-8 17, Scott 6-11 4-7 17, Collet 5-10 0-0 13 Pfaff 1-3 2-4 4, B Dorman 1-2 0-0 3, Schroer 0-4 0-0 0, Cupp 0-1 0-0 0.
Team scoring (three-pointers)
NP 23-55 (6-13) 7-16 59, CL 19-45 (5-15) 11-19 56.
Rebounds (offensive)
NP 30 (12), CL 30 (10).
Turnovers
NP 10, CL 17.
Clovers fend off pesky Cougars
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Cloverdale senior Amillia Nally drives down the lane to hit a runner over the outstretched arm of North Putnam junior Bethany Wiatt. It was Nally's only field goal, but she assisted on seven others.
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN)
CLOVERDALE -- The North Putnam girls' basketball team has come a long way since the Putnam County Tournament in November, but Cloverdale's changes were more evident on Friday when the Clovers won 46-32.
Cloverdale (7-11, 1-3 WCC) was led by senior point guard Amillia Nally, who assisted on seven of the team's 12 field goals.
"She's stepped up really big in these last three or four games," CHS coach Matthew Langdon said. "She's just really finding what it means to be a true point guard. She's the calming effect on the team. She's starting to learn when to attack and when not to attack.
"And that's great. There's going to be times when there's chances for those assists and there's times to dribble it out and pull it back and set it up."
North Putnam (4-13, 0-3) counted on the rebounding of senior Sam Lucas to keep it in the game. She finished with 11 boards.
Though neither team is dominant in both the perimeter and post, basketball comes down to matchups and the Clovers and Cougars present nightmares for one another.
Cloverdale's strength is in its guard play, where senior Nally, Paige Gruener and Bristy Skiles, along with sophomore Bailee Stevens, cause headaches with their aggressiveness and quickness.
North Putnam's forwards, seniors Lucas, Cayla Kientz and Cassie Aynes and freshman Taylor Nauert, have the size and aggressiveness the Cloverdale struggles with.
"It was physical both ways," NPHS coach Curtis Lawrence said. "Matthew (Langdon)'s kids did an outstanding job against us, just bodying our kids up and not letting us get those easy buckets on the inside."
The Cougars hung tough until halftime, trailing only by five (23-18) but the third quarter is where they've struggled all year.
"They held us for the first (ten) minutes of the second half to one point," Lawrence said. "If you go through a stretch like that, you're not going to win many ball games ... We had talked about, in the locker room (at halftime) coming out and trying to win the third quarter, and that seems to be the quarter we struggle with offensively."
The low-scoring third begat what was, by comparison, an explosive fourth.
Cloverdale's guards penetrated straight to the rim, drawing fouls and won the game at the line.
The Clovers made 10-of-14 from the charity stripe in the fourth, seizing the game.
The host Turkey Run on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. Cloverdale is back in action Friday in a pivotal conference showdown at South Putnam at 6 p.m.
At Cloverdale
North Putnam 8 10 1 13 -- 32
Cloverdale 11 12 5 18 -- 46
Individual scoring
North Putnam (4-13, 0-3): Wiatt 4-6 1-5 9, Asbell 2-14 3-4 8, Smith 1-6 2-2 5, Lucas 2-14 3-4 5, Kientz 1-1 0-1 2, Aynes 1-2 0-0 2, Nauert 0-3 0-0 0, Land 0-0 0-0 0.
Cloverdale (7-11, 1-3): Gruener 5-9 2-2 14, Shrum 3-5 2-2 8, Skiles 2-7 0-0 6, Clark 3-8 0-4 6, Stevens 1-1 3-6 5, Walters 1-1 2-2 4, Nally 1-8 1-2 3.
Team scoring (three-pointers)
NP 11-46 (1-6) 8-15 32, CL 12-40 (4-12) 10-15 46.
Rebounds (offensive)
NP 25 (10), CL 31 (7).
Turnovers
NP 20, CL 15.
Winning by a hair: pre-wrap versus headbands
Friday, January 18, 2013
North Putnam sophomore Morgan Smith and Southmont senior Jess Chadd demonstrate the two biggest factions in hair restraint. Smith, wearing a headband here, said she prefers to wear pre-wrap during games.
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ROACHDALE -- When the North Putnam and Cloverdale girls' basketball teams clash tonight, the fans and coaches will have only one goal in mind: have the basketball drop through the hoop for us more than the opponent.
Basketball is a team game and when five players work together in synchronicity on the court, goals like winning the game are usually met.
But the players will each fight an individual battle, one that can divide teammates and fracture the pregame morale.
On this one topic, school pride takes a backseat to personal benefit. The battle not with the scoreboard, but with their hair.
Pre-wrap or headband?
"I use pre-wrap when I tape my ankles. I don't want it in my hair," North Putnam senior Cayla Kientz said. "I like headbands. The pre-wrap comes off my head and headbands stick better."
Her teammate, NPHS sophomore Morgan Smith had a notably different perspective.
"I have three rolls of pre-wrap in my bag right now -- orange, black and maroon," Smith said.
Others, like NPHS senior Cassie Aynes and junior Bethany Wiatt, don't have much use for either. With longer hair and no bangs, a ponytail is sufficient enough.
"If I start the game with a headband, it falls off before the game is over," Aynes said.
Needless to say, Wiatt and Aynes aren't looking forward to the game next Friday when they and the rest of the team will where pink headbands to support breast cancer awareness.
The hair-restraining products shouldn't be an issue at all, but the pesky Indiana High School Athletic Association requires everyone's uniform to be ... uniform.
Headgear has to match the color of the uniform, and everyone has to be the same. If one player wears blue, so does everyone else.
For this reason alone, pre-wrap is a more sensible solution.
A three-dollar roll can last all season long -- more if the player uses the knotted strip for multiple games and practices. Most don't, but some do.
Players can pass the roll around in the locker room before games and get their hair taken care of quickly.
The problem is that what works for one doesn't work for everyone else.
Pre-wrap can be hairsprayed to stay in place, though not everyone sprays her hair.
Different types of hair require different solutions.
"Normally I wear pre-wraps because they stay in better," NPHS freshman Taylor Nauert said. "If a headband has the grippy stuff it will stay in better."
Wide, elastic headbands work well for curly hair, but for others neither a headband nor pre-wrap will get the job done.
"The Nike (sweatbands) are the only thing that will stay in my hair," NPHS sophomore Brooke Smith said. "Pre-wrap, headbands, nothing else will stay."
Regardless of the technique, every girl has a system that works for her, though it can change over time.
NPHS JV coach Laura Blaydes wore a sweatband for every game in high school, then switched to pre-wrap when she played at IUPUI.
"When I played at IUPUI I wore pre-wrap every game," Blaydes said. "All of my teammates wore pre-wrap."
Aside from the economic difference, pre-wrap has another advantage to headbands; it's versatility.
Worn wide, pre-wrap can help snag loose bangs. Twisted together tightly, it holds everything with minimal attention.
A few extra years of experience has given Blaydes, a 2011 graduate of IUPUI, a chance to pick up a few extra pre-wrap tips.
"I double-layered it so it doesn't break," she said, mimicking stretching out pre-wrap and folding it overtop of itself before tying it.
The techniques are passed down from one class to the next; seniors sharing secrets with freshman.
Growing in popularity, pre-wrap has become more accessible in recent years.
Just a couple years ago Blaydes had to buy plain white on the Internet by going to what she called "middle-school websites."
Now, pre-wrap comes in a variety of colors and designs and is available at niche clothing and accessory stores.
There are other solutions, or combinations, that are out there for long-haired basketball players.
Several of the girls, speaking on the condition of anonymity, also said a deliberately placed bobby pin can help do the trick, but be careful.
"You're not allowed to wear bobby pins," one girl said.
"You have to hide them under your hair and pre-wrap is good for that," said another.
Whatever the product, when the game is on, function takes precedent over fashion. Like ill-fitting undergarments that require constant adjustment, hair can be a distraction during games.
Bangs can slip out and block vision. Tangles can bunch up and become uncomfortable. Anything it takes for an athlete to keep her hair in position and keep her focus on the game is what she'll do.
When it comes to pre-wrap versus headbands, the only winning side is the side that works.
Morgan Smith demonstrates her technique for tying pre-wrap for each game. Smith often prefers holding her hair back with headbands in social situations, but pre-wrap when it's time to compete. Pre-wrap is inexpensive and takes only a few seconds to custom-fit for each person by tying a single knot.
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN)
Note to readers:
1) By request, interviews with Cloverdale players and coaches have not been included.
2) Please don't take this story too seriously.
© Copyright 2013 Greencastle Banner-Graphic. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Tiger women chew up Big Red
Thursday, January 17, 2013
DePauw senior Ellie Pearson deflects a pass from Denison sophomore Mary Margaret Habel. Pearson had four steals and eight rebounds in the win.
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The DePauw women's basketball team might not be the best team in the country. They're undefeated, and they've been ranked No. 1 for most of the year, but it won't be confirmed until March.
But after an 85-48 dismissal of visiting Denison on Wednesday, it's becoming pretty clear that the only team that will challenge DePauw until the postseason is itself.
"I guess I'd say we're kind of chasing at perfection in a sense," DPU coach Kris Huffman said. "And we'll never get there, so we really evaluate every possession and not the scoreboard so much.
"We know that any team left on the schedule can beat us, so we're trying to avoid that letdown."
The only chance the Big Red had on Wednesday came when the Tigers had all five starters off the floor, but even then Denison had to fight just to stay even.
When seniors Kate Walker and Ellie Pearson, junior Ali Ross and Alex Gasaway and sophomore Savannah Trees were on the court, it was no contest.
The Tigers played a complete game, forcing Denison into tough shots and turnovers on defense and then getting into the paint with efficiency on offense.
Game-highs went to Gasaway in points (18), Ross in assists (six) and Pearson in rebounds (eight).
DPU's only disadvantage against Denison, it's lack of height in the front court, was turned into a positive when the Tigers showed off their quickness and athleticism.
The hosts had a 34-23 rebounding advantage in the game, outscoring Denison 13-0 in second-chance points.
Huffman said she is trying to keep the team vigilant and focused on execution more than results, but when the results are there it's hard to worry about why.
The Tigers (16-0, 7-0 NCAC) play at Oberlin (7-8, 2-4) Saturday at 1 p.m.
Huffman warned the team not to overlook its opponent.
"We'll have a tough matchup at Oberlin with their offensive scheme. Sometimes it's not about records, it's how you match up with an opponent," Huffman said. "Sometimes their strengths are your weaknesses, and you never know where that's going to take you."
At DePauw
Denison 22 26 -- 48
DePauw 41 44 -- 85
Individual scoring
Denison (8-8, 3-4 NCAC): Habel 4-5 5-6 13, Nuzzo 4-13 2-2 11, Coggins 3-7 1-1 7, Parker 2-4 0-0 6, Love 2-6 0-0 4, Rogers 1-3 1-2 3, Staubach 1-2 0-0 2, Freundlich 1-1 0-0 2, Arter 0-0 0-0 0, Lindquist 0-0 0-0 0, Byrne 0-1 0-0 0, Bryant-Lees 0-0 0-0 0.
DePauw (16-0, 7-0): Gasaway 8-14 1-3 18, Stephens 4-7 2-2 11, Pearson 5-9 0-0 10, Trees 3-7 3-3 9, Walker 4-6 0-0 8, Ross 3-5 0-0 8, Ondik 2-3 0-0 6, Abendroth 2-4 0-0 5, Molloy 2-7 0-0 5, Keller 1-1 0-0 2, Frost 1-1 0-0 2, Stoner 0-0 1-2 1, Francis 0-0 0-0 0, Skordos 0-0 0-0 0, McDonagh 0-0 0-0 0, Hacker 0-0 0-0 0, Lukemeyer 0-1 0-0 0, McGinnis 0-0 0-0 0.
Team scoring (three-pointers)
DEN 18-42 (3-13) 9-11 48, DPU 35-65 (8-16) 7-10 85.
Rebounds (Offensive)
DEN 23 (5), DPU 34 (14).
Turnovers
DEN 23, DPU 10.
Halftime cures what ails DPU in men's win versus Denison
Thursday, January 17, 2013
DePauw junior Jeff Sustarsic blocks Denison junior Alex Longi as he goes in for a layup in the game on Wednesday.
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN)[Order this photo]
The DePauw men's basketball team took control in the second half against Denison on Wednesday, opening up a three-point game at halftime into a 79-65 win.
DPU senior Barry Flynn finished with a game-high 23 points on only 11 field goal attempts.
The Tigers found their rhythm from beyond the arc, making 9-of-20 three-pointers in the game.
"That's a real strength of ours," DPU coach Bill Fenlon said. "But we didn't really shoot them that well early, and I thought we shot them too early in the possession in the first half, and it led to some transition baskets for (Denison). The game didn't really have a good feel to it because we we're extending them defensively."
The Tigers led 32-29 at the break, then allowed a quick game-tying three and continued to force their shots early in the shot clock.
"(The shots) come inside-out," Fenlon said. "They come off penetration, and you're just a little more opening because you've extended (the defenders) a little bit. You've run them around."
DPU got it together with Flynn leading the way. He was five-of-five in the second half.
The Big Red lost their focus and the Tigers stretched the lead to six.
Four minutes into the second half Denison coach Bob Ghiloni pulled all five players on the court, platooning a group with instructions.
"You know why you're going in," Ghiloni told his players. "Pick it up."
On the subsequent possession Denison junior D.J. Bridges went straight to the rim with a breakaway dunk.
But energy can only get a team so far against a team executing like DPU did in the second half.
Another hoop from Flynn, this one from the top of the key, extended the lead and forced a Denison timeout.
That didn't help either.
The Tigers continued their run, stretching the lead to as much as 13 on multiple occasions.
After closing the gap to five with 3:23 left in the game, Denison watched DPU sophomore Connor Rich pull up for a ridiculous 30-foot three-point attempt that rattled through with 10 seconds left on the shot clock.
Rich finished with 13 points and three three-pointers.
DPU (10-6, 3-4 NCAC) will travel to Oberlin on Saturday, hoping to carry the rhythm of shooting and defense it showed against Denison (4-12, 2-5).
"I thought we had some stretches where we were really good defensively," Fenlon said. "(We had) just less mistakes. That's what (Denison) is trying to get you to do. They're setting a zillion screens and trying to get you to screw it up.
"We screwed it up a little bit less in the second half. "
At DePauw
Denison29 36 -- 65
DePauw 32 47 -- 79
Individual scoring
Denison (4-12, 2-5 NCAC): Barnes 8-13 4-5 21, Longi 6-12 3-7 15 Akpapunam 4-10 2-2 11, King 3-6 0-0 6, Weingart 1-4 0-0 3, White 1-4 0-0 3, Bre. Woolard 1-2 0-0 2, Bra. Woolard 1-2 0-0 2, Bridges 1-3 0-0 2, White 0-3 0-0 0, Keller 0-0 0-0 0.
DePauw (10-6, 3-4 NCAC): Flynn 9-11 5-9 23, Wilkison 4-10 4-4 16, Rich 4-8 2-2 13, Botts 2-6 4-4 10, Payne 4-4 0-2 8, Haggin 1-2 1-2 3, Sustarsic 1-3 0-0 2, Johnson 0-1 2-4 2, Burns 1-2 0-0 2, Fernitz 0-0 0-0 0, Patton 0-0 0-0 0.
Team scoring (three-pointers)
DEN 26-59 (4-17) 9-14 65, DPU 26-47 (9-20) 18-27 79.
Rebounds (offensive)
DEN 29 (8), DPU 29 (4).
Turnovers
DEN 12, DPU 9.
Tiger Cub girls take county swim title
Friday, January 25, 2013
Greencastle's senior captains Kaitlynne Mason (center) and Kaelynn Cox celebrate winning the 2013 Putnam County girls' swimming and diving championship by claiming the trophy with head coach Kent Menzel.
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The Greencastle girls' swimming and diving team completed a local tournament sweep on Thursday, winning the 2013 Putnam County meet at South Putnam with 315 points.
The Tiger Cubs won the West Central Conference title a few weeks ago.
At the county meet South Putnam finished second with 196 and North Putnam was third with 95.
GHS had county champions in 10 of the 12 events, including wins in each of the three valuable relays.
Mallary Meyer, Emily Wheeler, Amelia Smith, Corrie Romer, Libby Brush, Amelia Smith, Rosio Gomez, Kaelynn Cox and Rachel Custis each won individual or relay victories.
"Given where we are in our plans for next week, I think they swam very, very well," GHS coach Kent Menzel said. "I was particularly happy with our relays. I thought they were on top of things tonight ... I thought they all meshed really well."
The Tiger Cubs have been relaxing their training in preparation for the start of the postseason next week.
Preliminaries for the sectional meet are Thursday night in Avon, and Menzel said he is hoping the team will be peaking at the right time.
"The girls were working on events that they're going to be swimming next week at the sectional," Menzel said. "They're where we want them to be. As the next seven days unfold, I think we'll sharpen them up quite a bit."
The Eagles had one individual champion, freshman diver Maddison Plunkett, to combine with several strong races.
"She got a little worked up; I don't know that she was happy with her performance," SPHS coach Matt Edwards said. "But I'm happy to see both her and Courtney (Sullivan) come out on top for one and two. They were first and second in both conference and county.
"That's a pretty big accomplishment. They both work very hard. They're in here morning after morning, trying to perfect things."
The Eagles' girls had mixed emotions about the meet, Edwards said, because it is the final regular season meet of the year.
"They know that this is their last 'season' kind of meet," Edwards said. "A lot of them wanted to swim their best times. And they did a heck of a job with that.
"The biggest thing I noticed tonight was just their racing. They put on some really good races. I've got to give credit to North Putnam and Greencastle, because they're good competitors, and our girls know that.
"Tonight was really about beating the girls to the left and to the right of them ... and practicing good racing. They did wonders, and I'm really proud of them."
North Putnam came through with one with individual champion as well. Elizabeth Alford swam an impressive 2:19.27 in the 200-yard freestyle, winning the race by nearly six seconds.
"The standout was Elizabeth Alford," NPHS coach Tony Gray said. "She won the county championship in the 200 and almost pulled it out in the 100. She just didn't quite have a good turn in that last wall, but she's worked really hard this year. I think the best things are in the future for her."
The Cougars have been improving steadily throughout the year and the county meet was a positive conclusion to the regular season, Gray said.
"The girls did a good job," he said. "They had fun tonight, they competed hard. Maybe the times weren't exactly where we wanted, but they just started taper.
"They're smiling so I'm smiling."
With the postseason approaching quickly, each team competing Thursday came into the meet hoping to be ready for next Thursday's sectional 11 preliminary races at Avon.
Greencastle swimmers Mallary Meyer (top) and Rachel Custis fight for the finish line in the 100-yard backstroke event on Thursday. Meyer out-touched Custis to come away with a win and secure the county championship with a time of 1:12.97.
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At South Putnam
2013 Girls' Putnam County Championship
Team score -- Final
1, Greencastle High School, 315. 2, South Putnam High School, 196. 3, North Putnam High School, 95.
Event results
Girls 200 Yard Medley Relay: 1, Greencastle High School 'A' (Meyer, Mallary , Wheeler, Emily , Smith, Amelia , Romer, Corrie ), 2:09.02. 2, South Putnam High School 'A' (Deszi, Morgan , Kiste, Katie , Beasley, Lyndsie , Hansel, Katie ), 2:21.56. 3, Greencastle High School 'B' (Mason, Kaitlynne , Hansen, Beth Ann , Cassida, Sydney , Custis, Rachel ), 2:24.25. 4, North Putnam High School 'A' (Gray, Hannah , Roberts, Lyndsay , Muse, Rebecca , Livesay, Sierra ), 2:32.93. 5, South Putnam High School 'B' (Plunkett, Maddison , Arnold, Megan , Shaw, Katie , Sutkowski, Macy ), 2:36.15.
Girls 200 Yard Freestyle: 1, Alford, Elizabeth, NPHS, 2:19.27. 2, Beasley, Katie Jo, SPHS, 2:25.22. 3, Cox, Kaelynn, GHS, 2:32.82. 4, Moore, Rebecca, GHS, 2:37.80. 5, Deszi, Morgan, SPHS, 2:38.18. 6, Stevens, Kristen, GHS, 2:39.32. 7, Wilson, Ashley, SPHS, 2:46.48. 8, Roberts, Jessica, GHS, 2:53.08. 9, Mason, Kaitlynne, GHS, 2:53.11. 10, Frieje, Samantha, NPHS, 2:53.98. 11, Buchanon, Rorie, NPHS, 3:20.75.
Girls 200 Yard Individual Medley: 1, Brush, Elizabeth, GHS, 2:38.92. 2, Wheeler, Emily, GHS, 2:45.24. 3, Gomez, Rosio, GHS, 2:47.16. 4, Kiste, Katie, SPHS, 3:02.81. 5, Arnold, Megan, SPHS, 3:05.18. 6, Hansen, Beth Ann, GHS, 3:06.64. 7, Muse, Rebecca, NPHS, 3:08.45. 8, Kelley, Tasha, SPHS, 3:30.12.
Girls 50 Yard Freestyle: 1, Smith, Amelia, GHS, 28.12. 2, Romer, Corrie, GHS, 28.13. 3, Custis, Rachel, GHS, 29.35. 4, Hansel, Katie, SPHS, 30.03. 5, Moore, Alexandra, NPHS, 32.55. 6, Kiste, Tori, SPHS, 32.74. 7, Livesay, Sierra, NPHS, 33.17. 8, Brattain, Hannah, GHS, 34.94. 9, Gray, Hannah, NPHS, 36.03. 10, Hettich, Michayla, SPHS, 36.36. 11, Fauvergue, Madi, GHS, 39.93. 12, McDaniel, Erin, NPHS, 41.37.
Girls 1 meter Diving: 1, Plunkett, Maddison, SPHS, 138.75. 2, Sullivan, Courtney, SPHS, 136.15. 3, Cassida, Sydney, GHS, 112.35. 4, Fauvergue, Madi, GHS, 106.65.
Girls 100 Yard Butterfly: 1, Gomez, Rosio, GHS, 1:12.82. 2, Meyer, Mallary, GHS, 1:13.32. 3, Beasley, Lyndsie, SPHS, 1:22.94. 4, Shaw, Katie, SPHS, 1:34.69. 5, Muse, Rebecca, NPHS, 1:35.16. 6, Kelley, Tasha, SPHS, 1:38.21. 7, Roberts, Jessica, GHS, 1:42.97.
Girls 100 Yard Freestyle: 1, Romer, Corrie, GHS, 1:03.28. 2, Smith, Amelia, GHS, 1:03.35. 3, Alford, Elizabeth, NPHS, 1:04.17. 4, Cox, Kaelynn, GHS, 1:04.46. 5, Beasley, Katie Jo, SPHS, 1:05.90. 6, Kiste, Tori, SPHS, 1:12.70. 7, Moore, Alexandra, NPHS, 1:14.71. 8, Sutkowski, Macy, SPHS, 1:15.54. 9, Livesay, Sierra, NPHS, 1:17.89. 10, Roberts, Lyndsay, NPHS, 1:22.59. 11, Anderson, Caitlyn, GHS, 1:24.37. 12, McDaniel, Erin, NPHS, 1:37.24.
Girls 500 Yard Freestyle: 1, Brush, Elizabeth, GHS, 6:29.86. 2, Hansel, Katie, SPHS, 6:50.70. 3, Moore, Rebecca, GHS, 7:00.62. 4, Wilson, Ashley, SPHS, 7:16.07. 5, Stevens, Kristen, GHS, 7:16.93. 6, Frieje, Samantha, NPHS, 7:57.06. 7, Wolf, Autumn, NPHS, 8:00.19. 8, Buchanon, Rorie, NPHS, 9:34.65.
Girls 200 Yard Freestyle Relay: 1, Greencastle High School 'A' (Wheeler, Emily , Cox, Kaelynn , Romer, Corrie , Smith, Amelia ), 1:54.27. 2, South Putnam High School 'A' (Beasley, Katie Jo , Shaw, Katie , Beasley, Lyndsie , Hansel, Katie ), 2:02.82. 3, North Putnam High School 'A' (Alford, Elizabeth , Livesay, Sierra , Moore, Alexandra , Muse, Rebecca ), 2:05.87. 4, Greencastle High School 'B' (Roberts, Jessica , Mason, Kaitlynne , Gomez, Rosio , Moore, Rebecca ), 2:11.03. 5, South Putnam High School 'B' (Kiste, Tori , Arnold, Megan , Kiste, Katie , Sutkowski, Macy ), 2:13.71.
Girls 100 Yard Backstroke: 1, Meyer, Mallary, GHS, 1:12.97. 2, Custis, Rachel, GHS, 1:13.43. 3, Cassida, Sydney, GHS, 1:14.95. 4, Deszi, Morgan, SPHS, 1:18.02. 5, Plunkett, Maddison, SPHS, 1:28.02. 6, Gray, Hannah, NPHS, 1:30.48. 7, Wolf, Autumn, NPHS, 1:31.89.
Girls 100 Yard Breaststroke: 1, Wheeler, Emily, GHS, 1:22.68. 2, Hansen, Beth Ann, GHS, 1:25.47. 3, Brattain, Hannah, GHS, 1:27.87. 4, Kiste, Katie, SPHS, 1:35.30. 5, Roberts, Lyndsay, NPHS, 1:36.68. 6, Anderson, Caitlyn, GHS, 1:39.64. 7, Mason, Kaitlynne, GHS, 1:39.69. 8, Arnold, Megan, SPHS, 1:40.44.
Girls 400 Yard Freestyle Relay: 1, Greencastle High School 'A' (Brush, Elizabeth , Custis, Rachel , Cox, Kaelynn , Gomez, Rosio ), 4:32.88. 2, South Putnam High School 'A' (Beasley, Katie Jo , Shaw, Katie , Kiste, Tori , Beasley, Lyndsie ), 4:42.74. 3, Greencastle High School 'B' (Stevens, Kristen , Moore, Rebecca , Cassida, Sydney , Meyer, Mallary ), 4:42.95. 4, South Putnam High School 'B' (Wilson, Ashley , Kelley, Tasha , Plunkett, Maddison , Sutkowski, Macy ), 5:22.04. 5, North Putnam High School 'A' (Alford, Elizabeth , Moore, Alexandra , Frieje, Samantha , Wolf, Autumn ), 5:25.06.
No. 1 Tigers rely on roles unspoken
Thursday, January 24, 2013
DePauw senior Ellie Pearson does the dirty work inside for the Tigers, but each player knows her role.
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
As the top-ranked DePauw University women's basketball team continued it dominant season by totally dismantling Wittenberg on Wednes-day, it became clear that the Tigers are capable of becoming more than a great team, but a legendary one.
DPU is more than just a collection of great players, though it is most certainly that. But it isn't their talent that makes the Tigers special, it's how perfectly constructed they are.
Their individual talents complement one another perfectly. Each player in the rotation has a specific role, tailored perfectly to her skills, and she rarely deviates from it.
"I think we really rely on people accepting roles on this team," DePauw coach Kris Huffman said. "We're looking for people that have that team mentality and selflessness."
As senior Ellie Pearson describes it, the team doesn't talk about roles, it's just a natural progression of how they all play.
"They're kind of unspoken roles," Pearson said. "We don't have any determined roles, but they're kind of known, if that makes sense."
Senior point guard Kate Walker sets the tone for the team -- passing before shooting, looking for open shooters as she attacks the lane -- but she isn't the lone leader.
Pearson is the team's leading rebounder, averaging nearly eight per game (in limited time).
She needs to average a little more than 15 rebounds per game for the rest of the season to set the DePauw career rebounding record, something she is capable of -- were she given the minutes -- but something she won't do because the team is too good for her to play enough.
(None of the starters gets more than 23 minutes per game. The Tigers blow out nearly every opponent. They learn more about execution in practice than they do in games. Echoing the UCLA men's teams of the late 60s, the only team that's physically a match for the DPU starters in the DPU bench.)
Junior Alex Gasaway is the team's leading scorer, utilizing an assortment of DeJuan Blair-like post moves to fight through contact and provide the team it's inside offensive threat.
Junior Ali Ross is the team's defensive stopper. She picks up the opposing point guard full court, hounding her opponent relentlessly.
The fifth starter, sophomore Savannah Trees, is an electric scorer capable of knocking down shots from the outside (she makes better than 50 percent of her threes) or putting the ball on the floor and knocking down a runner in the lane.
"On any given night anyone could go off for 20," Pearson said. "It's just kind of fun sitting in the locker room before the game thinking, 'All right, who is it going to be tonight?' Someone always steps up, but then if you go and look at our team it's very balanced scoring (averages)."
Each of the players is capable of more -- Walker, Ross and even Gasaway are capable of stepping outside and knocking down open threes, "In the flow of the game," Gasaway says; Pearson leads the Tigers in blocks and steals (she had four of each on Wednesday) -- but they never deviate, always staying within themselves.
The roles go beyond the starters.
Junior Alison Stephens would start for any other team in the country. She's and inside-outside scoring threat who is also second on the team in rebounds.
Senior Kat Molloy picks up the defensive pressure when Ross goes to the bench.
It goes on.
Whatever five-woman unit the Tigers have on the court, each player falls into her lane.
The players' willingness to take a step back with her personal numbers to help the team makes the difference between a great team and a legendary one.
It's why Butler made consecutive championship games and why the Los Angeles Lakers -- with four likely Hall of Famers -- are on pace to miss the NBA playoffs.
The players on DePauw's basketball team are very good, maybe even great. The team is phenomenal.
DPU women move to 18-0 by rolling past Wittenberg
Thursday, January 24, 2013
By halftime against Wittenberg, the only thing in question for the DePauw women's basketball team was whether or not it would double-up the score of its opponent. The host Tigers did exactly that, winning 74-37.
"We never go into a game (preparing) like we're better than an opponent. Coach (Huffman) always prepares us the same -- same scouting report, same amount of film, same prep during practice," DPU junior Alex Gasaway said. "But our goal is always to bury them."
Gasaway had a season-high 27 points against Wittenberg despite playing only 18 minutes.
"She had a nice game," Tigers coach Kris Huffman said. "She's coming off having the flu, so it was a good performance. And she wanted the ball, which was nice to see."
DePauw started the game slow, at least by its standards, leading by only two (16-14) with 10:44 left in the first half.
They rolled from there, finishing the half on a 20-4 run to take a 36-18 lead into the break.
Gasaway scored 11 in the first half, then continued where she left off in the second, attacking the basket and getting to the line. She mad 12-of-13 free throws in the game.
"I expect contact when I go in for layups or shots down low, but I don't typically expect for them to call it," Gasaway said. "Sometimes they call it, sometimes they don't. But I expect contact."
The win was DePauw's 43rd straight regular season victory, adding one more to the school-record to start a season. The Tigers are now 18-0.
They'll return to action Saturday when they host Ohio Wesleyan at 1 p.m.
DePauw junior Alex Gasaway pulls in a rebound over Wittenberg on Tuesday. She scored a game- and season-high 27 points.
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
At DePauw
Wittenberg 18 19 -- 37
DePauw 36 38 -- 74
Individual scoring
Wittenberg (8-9, 4-4 NCAC): Rice 3-10 1-2 8, Haralamos 2-8 2-2 6, Lara 2-7 1-2 5, Daniel-Hamberg 2-8 1-2 5, Schroeder 2-3 1-2 5, Replogle 2-5 0-0 4, Skidmore 1-5 0-0 2, Miller 1-3 0-0 2.
DePauw (18-0, 9-0): Gasaway 7-11 12-13 27, Trees 5-9 0-0 11, Stephens 3-7 1-1 8, Molloy 2-4 2-2 7, Pearson 2-6 1-5 5, Walker 2-3 0-0 4, Ross 1-4 1-2 3, Ondik 1-2 0-0 3, Abendroth 1-4 0-0 3, Keller 0-1 2-2 2, McDonagh 0-0 1-2 1, Sarkisian 0-1 0-0 0, Stoner 0-0 0-0 0, Skordos 0-2 0-0 0, Hacker 0-1 0-0 0, Lukemeyer 0-2 0-1 0, Francis 0-0 0-0 0.
Team scoring (three-pointers)
Wittenberg 15-49 (1-15) 6-10 37, DePauw 24-57 (6-13) 20-28 74.
Rebounds (offensive)
Wittenberg 30 (9), DePauw 40 (15).
Turnovers
Wittenberg 23, DePauw 11.
Last-second shot helps Warriors knock out NPHS
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Turkey Run junior Jordan Goddard pulls up for her game-winning layup, shooting over North Putnam juniors Bethany Wiatt (5) and Madi Asbell to get the win.
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
ROACHDALE -- Big Ten fans know that in a slow-paced, every-possession-matters-more kind of game, every mistake and every success is magnified.
So when Turkey Run junior Jordan Goddard sank a layup from the right block as time expired to give her team a 33-32 win at North Putnam, the Cougars had numerous plays they could point to as a culprit.
North Putnam (4-14, 0-3 WCC) had several success on Tuesday: senior Sam Lucas scored 16 points and grabbed 13 rebounds; junior Bethany Wiatt had seven steals, to go along with her seven points; the squad had only 14 turnovers.
But the positives were balanced out by what the Warriors did well: winning the rebound battle 34-29; slowing the game down to their pace.
Most importantly, though, Turkey Run had the ball last.
"I told the girls at halftime that (Turkey Run) was going to try to slow the game down and keep the tempo down and make it low possession," NPHS coach Curtis Lawrence said. "When we see a short bench (Turkey Run dressed six players), we want to try to pick the tempo up."
As Turkey Run (2-17) slowed the pace of the game down to a crawl, the Cougars couldn't ever seem to inject energy.
The crisp, decisive passing of the Warriors negated the NPHS press, and falling back on defense meant sitting in a zone and waiting Turkey Run to make a mistake.
The Cougars capitalized in spurts, but that meant building a lead up to only five.
As the clock ticked away late in the fourth quarter, the Cougars up one point, it seemed like the Warriors would work it down for the last shot.
Turkey Run had tried to burn the final forty seconds of the third quarter in the Four Corners offense, but it turned the ball over late.
As Wiatt dove on a loose ball, the game tied with 11 seconds left in the fourth, they repeated their mistake.
Wiatt tied the ball up and the possession arrow pointed for North Putnam.
Lucas was fouled on the inbounds and sank one-of-two free throws to take the lead with 3.2 seconds remaining.
After a timeout, the Warriors took the ball out on the sideline near half court.
"It was a poor coaching move on my part at the end," Lawrence said. "I shouldn't have had (senior Cayla Kientz) guarding the ball out of bounds with 3.2. I should have had her back in the middle of the lane. That kind of made everybody help."
Senior Chelsie Wood appeared trapped on the sideline but found Goddard under the basket for a layup.
Goddard finished the game with 14 points (six-of-nine from the field) and seven rebounds.
The Cougars will be back in action Friday when they host Greencastle at 6 p.m. It is also the NPHS homecoming.
At North Putnam
Turkey Run 7 5 10 11 -- 33
North Putnam 8 5 12 7 -- 32
Individual scoring
Turkey Run (2-17): Goddard 6-9 2-3 14, Grayless 3-7 1-3 7, Thompson 1-4 0-0 3, Bowling 1-5 0-0 3, Wood 0-9 3-5 3, Basan 1-2 0-0 3.
North Putnam (4-14, 0-3): Lucas 5-11 6-8 16, Wiatt 3-6 1-2 7, Smith 3-10 0-2 6, Asbell 1-7 0-2 2, Kientz 0-1 1-2 1, Nauert 0-2 0-0 0, Aynes 0-3 0-0 0, Land 0-0 0-0 0.
Team scoring (three-pointers)
TR 12-37 (3-12) 6-12 33, NP 12-39 (0-0) 8-16 32.
Rebounds (offensive)
TR 34 (12), NP 29 (11).
Turnovers
TR 20, NP 14.
South Putnam has frustrating second half in loss to Bruins
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
South Putnam junior Sawyer Arnold plants and swings a crossover dribble around the Bruins on Saturday.
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
LIZTON -- The South Putnam boys' basketball team was eliminated from contention for a West Central Conference championship on Friday, but it came back Saturday playing hard at Tri-West.
The teams were tight at the half but the Eagles' collective frustration seemed to get the best of them at the break as they lost 67-44.
"We haven't come out in the third quarter this year," SPHS coach Troy Burgess said. "(Friday) night against Monrovia. (It was a) one-point game after two, then a 14-point game after three. We've got to figure something out in that third quarter."
The Eagles (5-7, 1-2 WCC) trailed by only seven at the break (28-21), despite a perfect first half from the field by Bruins junior Austin Lynn (6-6, 14 points).
Instead of building, SPHS came out sloppy. The players committed nine fouls and 10 turnovers in the third quarter, then lost their defensive intensity in the fourth.
"We're not coming out with the same intensity in the third quarter that we play the first and second, and then we dig ourselves a hole," Burgess said. "I don't know. I made a joke last night about it. Maybe I don't go in and talk to them. Maybe I pour them some orange juice and let them sit."
Tri-West (6-6) made 13-of-14 free throws in the final period, and six-of-seven two-point shots, en route to a 24-point quarter.
Sophomore Trevor Waite made eight-of-eight from the line in the final quarter to help secure the win.
Waite and Lynn each finished with game-highs of 22 points.
Junior Sawyer Arnold led the Eagles with 15 points. Junior Trey Moore had nine points and eight rebounds, and senior Justin Bumgardner had three and nine.
"(Tri-West) is a good basketball team," Burgess said. "Against good teams like this, you can't dig yourself a hole."
The Eagles will host Cloverdale on Friday at 7:30 p.m. It will be South Putnam High School's homecoming.
At Tri-West
South Putnam 11 10 9 14 -- 44
Tri-West 14 14 15 24 -- 67
Individual scoring
SP: Arnold 5-13 3-3 15, Moore 2-5 6-9 10, R Chestnut 2-4 2-2 6, Vittetow 2-7 0-1 6, Pell 1-4 1-2 4, Bumgardner 1-6 1-4 3, Mitchell 0-3 0-0 0, Long 0-1 0-1 0, Franklin 0-1 0-0 0, D Chestnut 0-1 0-0 0, Snow 0-0 0-0 0.
TW: Lynn 9-11 3-5 22, Waite 6-12 10-11 22, Alexander 3-8 4-4 10, Burks 4-4 0-2 8, Hendershot 1-5 1-4 3, Phelps 1-3 0-0 2, Koelling 0-5 0-0 0, Musial 0-1 0-0 0, Stamm 0-2 0-0 0, Gadberry 0-0 0-0 0, Miller 0-0 0-0 0, Vervynckt 0-0 0-0 0.
Team scoring (three-pointers)
SP 13-45 (5-14) 13-22 44, TW 24-51 (1-15) 19-28 67.
Rebounds (offensive)
SP 41 (20), TW 19(7).
Turnovers
SP 27, TW 10.
Green stands ground in NP win over Cloverdale
Saturday, January 19, 2013
North Putnam senior Zach Green stands in the lane and braces for contact by Cloverdale junior Zach Dorman. Dorman was called for a charge that helped seal an NPHS win.
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN)[Order this photo]
CLOVERDALE -- As the North Putnam and Cloverdale boys' basketball teams traded baskets throughout the fourth quarter and the clock began ticking down, it was apparent that one big play would decide the game.
North Putnam senior Zach Green made that play and helped the Cougars win, 59-56.
As junior Zach Dorman slashed through the lane, down two points with 31 seconds to go, it looked like it would be his day.
Dorman's eyes widened at the sight of the rim, but he failed to see Green sliding in front of him, planting his feet and standing firm.
As Dorman's layup rattled out, a pile of Zachs clogged the floor of the lane. The official's whistle sounded as he signaled a charge.
"Zach (Green) was tremendous," NPHS coach Nathan Martindale said. "That's the best game I've seen him play. Ever. He came in, he was under control, he scored some, he was quicker than some of the (Cloverdale) guards and he was able to get into the paint and get some layups for us.
"Then he had that huge charge in the fourth quarter. That was a make-or-break situation and we got the call."
Green's play led to a shooting foul at the other end. Junior Shane Beaman made one of two, extending the lead to three.
Sophomore Brantson Scott, who tied with Dorman as the game's high-scorer with 17, answered with a layup with 10 seconds left.
The subsequent inbounds pass missed its intended target, but Brody Pfaff was called for a foul as he and NPHS junior Jordan Nauert dove after the ball.
Nauert sank the pair, putting NPHS up three with six seconds left.
"He can do whatever he wants," Martindale said. "He's the type of kid that can shoot it when he needs to. He can pass it when he needs it. We even had him on the big kid (Dorman) tonight ... He's a very versatile player for us. We can put him in many different positions. I don't know too many guys that can defend the post and go out and play point guard on the way down.
"It was a total team-effort. All eight guys played great minutes for us."
The Clovers had been in similar situations before. They entered the game 3-2 in one-possession games including a buzzer-beating shot to beat Clay City last Saturday.
Unlike the other situations, when the players were taught to drive to the basket, Cloverdale trailed NPHS by three.
CHS coach Pat Rady called for a timeout.
"We wanted to get a three-point shot," Rady said. "We had two people lined up and they covered the other one (Collet) pretty well, so we went for the three-point shot (with Scott)."
Scott's attempt rattled out and Beaman hauled in the rebound to run out the clock.
The game hadn't always been close.
Cloverdale trailed 34-23 at the break, then proceeded to go on a 19-4 run to start the third quarter. Scott and junior Kedrick Collet (seven points in the quarter) sparked the rally that had the two teams enter the fourth quarter tied at 42.
The Clovers were helped by the foul trouble of the North Putnam bigs, seniors Jameson Brewer and Jake Haste.
"Our bigs played a little tentative because of fouls, so (Cloverdale was) able to get some things that they normally wouldn't have gotten," Martindale said.
Rady said that was all part of the plan.
"When we got certain guys in foul trouble, we were trying to put (Brewer and Haste) in low-post position and force them to have to defend," Rady said. "A lot of times when a guy's got foul trouble he won't defend as well."
Green finished with 11 points and a team-high seven rebounds.
North Putnam hosts Greencastle on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Cloverdale travels to South Putnam on the same date and time.
North Putnam junior Jordan Nauert blocks a slamdunk attempt by Cloverdale junior Zach Dorman in the third quarter on Friday.
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
At Cloverdale
North Putnam 16 18 8 17 -- 59
Cloverdale 10 13 19 14 -- 56
Individual scoring
North Putnam (3-10, 1-1 WCC): Brewer 8-17 0-3 16, Green 5-13 0-0 11, Hazelgrove 3-8 2-4 10, Nauert 1-6 3-4 6, Roberts 2-2 1-3 5, Beaman 1-2 1-2 4, Haste 2-6 0-0 4, Flynn 1-1 0-0 2.
Cloverdale (3-11, 0-4): Z Dorman 6-14 5-8 17, Scott 6-11 4-7 17, Collet 5-10 0-0 13 Pfaff 1-3 2-4 4, B Dorman 1-2 0-0 3, Schroer 0-4 0-0 0, Cupp 0-1 0-0 0.
Team scoring (three-pointers)
NP 23-55 (6-13) 7-16 59, CL 19-45 (5-15) 11-19 56.
Rebounds (offensive)
NP 30 (12), CL 30 (10).
Turnovers
NP 10, CL 17.
Clovers fend off pesky Cougars
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Cloverdale senior Amillia Nally drives down the lane to hit a runner over the outstretched arm of North Putnam junior Bethany Wiatt. It was Nally's only field goal, but she assisted on seven others.
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN)
CLOVERDALE -- The North Putnam girls' basketball team has come a long way since the Putnam County Tournament in November, but Cloverdale's changes were more evident on Friday when the Clovers won 46-32.
Cloverdale (7-11, 1-3 WCC) was led by senior point guard Amillia Nally, who assisted on seven of the team's 12 field goals.
"She's stepped up really big in these last three or four games," CHS coach Matthew Langdon said. "She's just really finding what it means to be a true point guard. She's the calming effect on the team. She's starting to learn when to attack and when not to attack.
"And that's great. There's going to be times when there's chances for those assists and there's times to dribble it out and pull it back and set it up."
North Putnam (4-13, 0-3) counted on the rebounding of senior Sam Lucas to keep it in the game. She finished with 11 boards.
Though neither team is dominant in both the perimeter and post, basketball comes down to matchups and the Clovers and Cougars present nightmares for one another.
Cloverdale's strength is in its guard play, where senior Nally, Paige Gruener and Bristy Skiles, along with sophomore Bailee Stevens, cause headaches with their aggressiveness and quickness.
North Putnam's forwards, seniors Lucas, Cayla Kientz and Cassie Aynes and freshman Taylor Nauert, have the size and aggressiveness the Cloverdale struggles with.
"It was physical both ways," NPHS coach Curtis Lawrence said. "Matthew (Langdon)'s kids did an outstanding job against us, just bodying our kids up and not letting us get those easy buckets on the inside."
The Cougars hung tough until halftime, trailing only by five (23-18) but the third quarter is where they've struggled all year.
"They held us for the first (ten) minutes of the second half to one point," Lawrence said. "If you go through a stretch like that, you're not going to win many ball games ... We had talked about, in the locker room (at halftime) coming out and trying to win the third quarter, and that seems to be the quarter we struggle with offensively."
The low-scoring third begat what was, by comparison, an explosive fourth.
Cloverdale's guards penetrated straight to the rim, drawing fouls and won the game at the line.
The Clovers made 10-of-14 from the charity stripe in the fourth, seizing the game.
The host Turkey Run on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. Cloverdale is back in action Friday in a pivotal conference showdown at South Putnam at 6 p.m.
At Cloverdale
North Putnam 8 10 1 13 -- 32
Cloverdale 11 12 5 18 -- 46
Individual scoring
North Putnam (4-13, 0-3): Wiatt 4-6 1-5 9, Asbell 2-14 3-4 8, Smith 1-6 2-2 5, Lucas 2-14 3-4 5, Kientz 1-1 0-1 2, Aynes 1-2 0-0 2, Nauert 0-3 0-0 0, Land 0-0 0-0 0.
Cloverdale (7-11, 1-3): Gruener 5-9 2-2 14, Shrum 3-5 2-2 8, Skiles 2-7 0-0 6, Clark 3-8 0-4 6, Stevens 1-1 3-6 5, Walters 1-1 2-2 4, Nally 1-8 1-2 3.
Team scoring (three-pointers)
NP 11-46 (1-6) 8-15 32, CL 12-40 (4-12) 10-15 46.
Rebounds (offensive)
NP 25 (10), CL 31 (7).
Turnovers
NP 20, CL 15.
Winning by a hair: pre-wrap versus headbands
Friday, January 18, 2013
North Putnam sophomore Morgan Smith and Southmont senior Jess Chadd demonstrate the two biggest factions in hair restraint. Smith, wearing a headband here, said she prefers to wear pre-wrap during games.
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
ROACHDALE -- When the North Putnam and Cloverdale girls' basketball teams clash tonight, the fans and coaches will have only one goal in mind: have the basketball drop through the hoop for us more than the opponent.
Basketball is a team game and when five players work together in synchronicity on the court, goals like winning the game are usually met.
But the players will each fight an individual battle, one that can divide teammates and fracture the pregame morale.
On this one topic, school pride takes a backseat to personal benefit. The battle not with the scoreboard, but with their hair.
Pre-wrap or headband?
"I use pre-wrap when I tape my ankles. I don't want it in my hair," North Putnam senior Cayla Kientz said. "I like headbands. The pre-wrap comes off my head and headbands stick better."
Her teammate, NPHS sophomore Morgan Smith had a notably different perspective.
"I have three rolls of pre-wrap in my bag right now -- orange, black and maroon," Smith said.
Others, like NPHS senior Cassie Aynes and junior Bethany Wiatt, don't have much use for either. With longer hair and no bangs, a ponytail is sufficient enough.
"If I start the game with a headband, it falls off before the game is over," Aynes said.
Needless to say, Wiatt and Aynes aren't looking forward to the game next Friday when they and the rest of the team will where pink headbands to support breast cancer awareness.
The hair-restraining products shouldn't be an issue at all, but the pesky Indiana High School Athletic Association requires everyone's uniform to be ... uniform.
Headgear has to match the color of the uniform, and everyone has to be the same. If one player wears blue, so does everyone else.
For this reason alone, pre-wrap is a more sensible solution.
A three-dollar roll can last all season long -- more if the player uses the knotted strip for multiple games and practices. Most don't, but some do.
Players can pass the roll around in the locker room before games and get their hair taken care of quickly.
The problem is that what works for one doesn't work for everyone else.
Pre-wrap can be hairsprayed to stay in place, though not everyone sprays her hair.
Different types of hair require different solutions.
"Normally I wear pre-wraps because they stay in better," NPHS freshman Taylor Nauert said. "If a headband has the grippy stuff it will stay in better."
Wide, elastic headbands work well for curly hair, but for others neither a headband nor pre-wrap will get the job done.
"The Nike (sweatbands) are the only thing that will stay in my hair," NPHS sophomore Brooke Smith said. "Pre-wrap, headbands, nothing else will stay."
Regardless of the technique, every girl has a system that works for her, though it can change over time.
NPHS JV coach Laura Blaydes wore a sweatband for every game in high school, then switched to pre-wrap when she played at IUPUI.
"When I played at IUPUI I wore pre-wrap every game," Blaydes said. "All of my teammates wore pre-wrap."
Aside from the economic difference, pre-wrap has another advantage to headbands; it's versatility.
Worn wide, pre-wrap can help snag loose bangs. Twisted together tightly, it holds everything with minimal attention.
A few extra years of experience has given Blaydes, a 2011 graduate of IUPUI, a chance to pick up a few extra pre-wrap tips.
"I double-layered it so it doesn't break," she said, mimicking stretching out pre-wrap and folding it overtop of itself before tying it.
The techniques are passed down from one class to the next; seniors sharing secrets with freshman.
Growing in popularity, pre-wrap has become more accessible in recent years.
Just a couple years ago Blaydes had to buy plain white on the Internet by going to what she called "middle-school websites."
Now, pre-wrap comes in a variety of colors and designs and is available at niche clothing and accessory stores.
There are other solutions, or combinations, that are out there for long-haired basketball players.
Several of the girls, speaking on the condition of anonymity, also said a deliberately placed bobby pin can help do the trick, but be careful.
"You're not allowed to wear bobby pins," one girl said.
"You have to hide them under your hair and pre-wrap is good for that," said another.
Whatever the product, when the game is on, function takes precedent over fashion. Like ill-fitting undergarments that require constant adjustment, hair can be a distraction during games.
Bangs can slip out and block vision. Tangles can bunch up and become uncomfortable. Anything it takes for an athlete to keep her hair in position and keep her focus on the game is what she'll do.
When it comes to pre-wrap versus headbands, the only winning side is the side that works.
Morgan Smith demonstrates her technique for tying pre-wrap for each game. Smith often prefers holding her hair back with headbands in social situations, but pre-wrap when it's time to compete. Pre-wrap is inexpensive and takes only a few seconds to custom-fit for each person by tying a single knot.
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN)
Note to readers:
1) By request, interviews with Cloverdale players and coaches have not been included.
2) Please don't take this story too seriously.
© Copyright 2013 Greencastle Banner-Graphic. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Tiger women chew up Big Red
Thursday, January 17, 2013
DePauw senior Ellie Pearson deflects a pass from Denison sophomore Mary Margaret Habel. Pearson had four steals and eight rebounds in the win.
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
The DePauw women's basketball team might not be the best team in the country. They're undefeated, and they've been ranked No. 1 for most of the year, but it won't be confirmed until March.
But after an 85-48 dismissal of visiting Denison on Wednesday, it's becoming pretty clear that the only team that will challenge DePauw until the postseason is itself.
"I guess I'd say we're kind of chasing at perfection in a sense," DPU coach Kris Huffman said. "And we'll never get there, so we really evaluate every possession and not the scoreboard so much.
"We know that any team left on the schedule can beat us, so we're trying to avoid that letdown."
The only chance the Big Red had on Wednesday came when the Tigers had all five starters off the floor, but even then Denison had to fight just to stay even.
When seniors Kate Walker and Ellie Pearson, junior Ali Ross and Alex Gasaway and sophomore Savannah Trees were on the court, it was no contest.
The Tigers played a complete game, forcing Denison into tough shots and turnovers on defense and then getting into the paint with efficiency on offense.
Game-highs went to Gasaway in points (18), Ross in assists (six) and Pearson in rebounds (eight).
DPU's only disadvantage against Denison, it's lack of height in the front court, was turned into a positive when the Tigers showed off their quickness and athleticism.
The hosts had a 34-23 rebounding advantage in the game, outscoring Denison 13-0 in second-chance points.
Huffman said she is trying to keep the team vigilant and focused on execution more than results, but when the results are there it's hard to worry about why.
The Tigers (16-0, 7-0 NCAC) play at Oberlin (7-8, 2-4) Saturday at 1 p.m.
Huffman warned the team not to overlook its opponent.
"We'll have a tough matchup at Oberlin with their offensive scheme. Sometimes it's not about records, it's how you match up with an opponent," Huffman said. "Sometimes their strengths are your weaknesses, and you never know where that's going to take you."
At DePauw
Denison 22 26 -- 48
DePauw 41 44 -- 85
Individual scoring
Denison (8-8, 3-4 NCAC): Habel 4-5 5-6 13, Nuzzo 4-13 2-2 11, Coggins 3-7 1-1 7, Parker 2-4 0-0 6, Love 2-6 0-0 4, Rogers 1-3 1-2 3, Staubach 1-2 0-0 2, Freundlich 1-1 0-0 2, Arter 0-0 0-0 0, Lindquist 0-0 0-0 0, Byrne 0-1 0-0 0, Bryant-Lees 0-0 0-0 0.
DePauw (16-0, 7-0): Gasaway 8-14 1-3 18, Stephens 4-7 2-2 11, Pearson 5-9 0-0 10, Trees 3-7 3-3 9, Walker 4-6 0-0 8, Ross 3-5 0-0 8, Ondik 2-3 0-0 6, Abendroth 2-4 0-0 5, Molloy 2-7 0-0 5, Keller 1-1 0-0 2, Frost 1-1 0-0 2, Stoner 0-0 1-2 1, Francis 0-0 0-0 0, Skordos 0-0 0-0 0, McDonagh 0-0 0-0 0, Hacker 0-0 0-0 0, Lukemeyer 0-1 0-0 0, McGinnis 0-0 0-0 0.
Team scoring (three-pointers)
DEN 18-42 (3-13) 9-11 48, DPU 35-65 (8-16) 7-10 85.
Rebounds (Offensive)
DEN 23 (5), DPU 34 (14).
Turnovers
DEN 23, DPU 10.
Tiger Cub girls take county swim title
Friday, January 25, 2013
Greencastle's senior captains Kaitlynne Mason (center) and Kaelynn Cox celebrate winning the 2013 Putnam County girls' swimming and diving championship by claiming the trophy with head coach Kent Menzel.
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
The Greencastle girls' swimming and diving team completed a local tournament sweep on Thursday, winning the 2013 Putnam County meet at South Putnam with 315 points.
The Tiger Cubs won the West Central Conference title a few weeks ago.
At the county meet South Putnam finished second with 196 and North Putnam was third with 95.
GHS had county champions in 10 of the 12 events, including wins in each of the three valuable relays.
Mallary Meyer, Emily Wheeler, Amelia Smith, Corrie Romer, Libby Brush, Amelia Smith, Rosio Gomez, Kaelynn Cox and Rachel Custis each won individual or relay victories.
"Given where we are in our plans for next week, I think they swam very, very well," GHS coach Kent Menzel said. "I was particularly happy with our relays. I thought they were on top of things tonight ... I thought they all meshed really well."
The Tiger Cubs have been relaxing their training in preparation for the start of the postseason next week.
Preliminaries for the sectional meet are Thursday night in Avon, and Menzel said he is hoping the team will be peaking at the right time.
"The girls were working on events that they're going to be swimming next week at the sectional," Menzel said. "They're where we want them to be. As the next seven days unfold, I think we'll sharpen them up quite a bit."
The Eagles had one individual champion, freshman diver Maddison Plunkett, to combine with several strong races.
"She got a little worked up; I don't know that she was happy with her performance," SPHS coach Matt Edwards said. "But I'm happy to see both her and Courtney (Sullivan) come out on top for one and two. They were first and second in both conference and county.
"That's a pretty big accomplishment. They both work very hard. They're in here morning after morning, trying to perfect things."
The Eagles' girls had mixed emotions about the meet, Edwards said, because it is the final regular season meet of the year.
"They know that this is their last 'season' kind of meet," Edwards said. "A lot of them wanted to swim their best times. And they did a heck of a job with that.
"The biggest thing I noticed tonight was just their racing. They put on some really good races. I've got to give credit to North Putnam and Greencastle, because they're good competitors, and our girls know that.
"Tonight was really about beating the girls to the left and to the right of them ... and practicing good racing. They did wonders, and I'm really proud of them."
North Putnam came through with one with individual champion as well. Elizabeth Alford swam an impressive 2:19.27 in the 200-yard freestyle, winning the race by nearly six seconds.
"The standout was Elizabeth Alford," NPHS coach Tony Gray said. "She won the county championship in the 200 and almost pulled it out in the 100. She just didn't quite have a good turn in that last wall, but she's worked really hard this year. I think the best things are in the future for her."
The Cougars have been improving steadily throughout the year and the county meet was a positive conclusion to the regular season, Gray said.
"The girls did a good job," he said. "They had fun tonight, they competed hard. Maybe the times weren't exactly where we wanted, but they just started taper.
"They're smiling so I'm smiling."
With the postseason approaching quickly, each team competing Thursday came into the meet hoping to be ready for next Thursday's sectional 11 preliminary races at Avon.
Greencastle swimmers Mallary Meyer (top) and Rachel Custis fight for the finish line in the 100-yard backstroke event on Thursday. Meyer out-touched Custis to come away with a win and secure the county championship with a time of 1:12.97.
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
At South Putnam
2013 Girls' Putnam County Championship
Team score -- Final
1, Greencastle High School, 315. 2, South Putnam High School, 196. 3, North Putnam High School, 95.
Event results
Girls 200 Yard Medley Relay: 1, Greencastle High School 'A' (Meyer, Mallary , Wheeler, Emily , Smith, Amelia , Romer, Corrie ), 2:09.02. 2, South Putnam High School 'A' (Deszi, Morgan , Kiste, Katie , Beasley, Lyndsie , Hansel, Katie ), 2:21.56. 3, Greencastle High School 'B' (Mason, Kaitlynne , Hansen, Beth Ann , Cassida, Sydney , Custis, Rachel ), 2:24.25. 4, North Putnam High School 'A' (Gray, Hannah , Roberts, Lyndsay , Muse, Rebecca , Livesay, Sierra ), 2:32.93. 5, South Putnam High School 'B' (Plunkett, Maddison , Arnold, Megan , Shaw, Katie , Sutkowski, Macy ), 2:36.15.
Girls 200 Yard Freestyle: 1, Alford, Elizabeth, NPHS, 2:19.27. 2, Beasley, Katie Jo, SPHS, 2:25.22. 3, Cox, Kaelynn, GHS, 2:32.82. 4, Moore, Rebecca, GHS, 2:37.80. 5, Deszi, Morgan, SPHS, 2:38.18. 6, Stevens, Kristen, GHS, 2:39.32. 7, Wilson, Ashley, SPHS, 2:46.48. 8, Roberts, Jessica, GHS, 2:53.08. 9, Mason, Kaitlynne, GHS, 2:53.11. 10, Frieje, Samantha, NPHS, 2:53.98. 11, Buchanon, Rorie, NPHS, 3:20.75.
Girls 200 Yard Individual Medley: 1, Brush, Elizabeth, GHS, 2:38.92. 2, Wheeler, Emily, GHS, 2:45.24. 3, Gomez, Rosio, GHS, 2:47.16. 4, Kiste, Katie, SPHS, 3:02.81. 5, Arnold, Megan, SPHS, 3:05.18. 6, Hansen, Beth Ann, GHS, 3:06.64. 7, Muse, Rebecca, NPHS, 3:08.45. 8, Kelley, Tasha, SPHS, 3:30.12.
Girls 50 Yard Freestyle: 1, Smith, Amelia, GHS, 28.12. 2, Romer, Corrie, GHS, 28.13. 3, Custis, Rachel, GHS, 29.35. 4, Hansel, Katie, SPHS, 30.03. 5, Moore, Alexandra, NPHS, 32.55. 6, Kiste, Tori, SPHS, 32.74. 7, Livesay, Sierra, NPHS, 33.17. 8, Brattain, Hannah, GHS, 34.94. 9, Gray, Hannah, NPHS, 36.03. 10, Hettich, Michayla, SPHS, 36.36. 11, Fauvergue, Madi, GHS, 39.93. 12, McDaniel, Erin, NPHS, 41.37.
Girls 1 meter Diving: 1, Plunkett, Maddison, SPHS, 138.75. 2, Sullivan, Courtney, SPHS, 136.15. 3, Cassida, Sydney, GHS, 112.35. 4, Fauvergue, Madi, GHS, 106.65.
Girls 100 Yard Butterfly: 1, Gomez, Rosio, GHS, 1:12.82. 2, Meyer, Mallary, GHS, 1:13.32. 3, Beasley, Lyndsie, SPHS, 1:22.94. 4, Shaw, Katie, SPHS, 1:34.69. 5, Muse, Rebecca, NPHS, 1:35.16. 6, Kelley, Tasha, SPHS, 1:38.21. 7, Roberts, Jessica, GHS, 1:42.97.
Girls 100 Yard Freestyle: 1, Romer, Corrie, GHS, 1:03.28. 2, Smith, Amelia, GHS, 1:03.35. 3, Alford, Elizabeth, NPHS, 1:04.17. 4, Cox, Kaelynn, GHS, 1:04.46. 5, Beasley, Katie Jo, SPHS, 1:05.90. 6, Kiste, Tori, SPHS, 1:12.70. 7, Moore, Alexandra, NPHS, 1:14.71. 8, Sutkowski, Macy, SPHS, 1:15.54. 9, Livesay, Sierra, NPHS, 1:17.89. 10, Roberts, Lyndsay, NPHS, 1:22.59. 11, Anderson, Caitlyn, GHS, 1:24.37. 12, McDaniel, Erin, NPHS, 1:37.24.
Girls 500 Yard Freestyle: 1, Brush, Elizabeth, GHS, 6:29.86. 2, Hansel, Katie, SPHS, 6:50.70. 3, Moore, Rebecca, GHS, 7:00.62. 4, Wilson, Ashley, SPHS, 7:16.07. 5, Stevens, Kristen, GHS, 7:16.93. 6, Frieje, Samantha, NPHS, 7:57.06. 7, Wolf, Autumn, NPHS, 8:00.19. 8, Buchanon, Rorie, NPHS, 9:34.65.
Girls 200 Yard Freestyle Relay: 1, Greencastle High School 'A' (Wheeler, Emily , Cox, Kaelynn , Romer, Corrie , Smith, Amelia ), 1:54.27. 2, South Putnam High School 'A' (Beasley, Katie Jo , Shaw, Katie , Beasley, Lyndsie , Hansel, Katie ), 2:02.82. 3, North Putnam High School 'A' (Alford, Elizabeth , Livesay, Sierra , Moore, Alexandra , Muse, Rebecca ), 2:05.87. 4, Greencastle High School 'B' (Roberts, Jessica , Mason, Kaitlynne , Gomez, Rosio , Moore, Rebecca ), 2:11.03. 5, South Putnam High School 'B' (Kiste, Tori , Arnold, Megan , Kiste, Katie , Sutkowski, Macy ), 2:13.71.
Girls 100 Yard Backstroke: 1, Meyer, Mallary, GHS, 1:12.97. 2, Custis, Rachel, GHS, 1:13.43. 3, Cassida, Sydney, GHS, 1:14.95. 4, Deszi, Morgan, SPHS, 1:18.02. 5, Plunkett, Maddison, SPHS, 1:28.02. 6, Gray, Hannah, NPHS, 1:30.48. 7, Wolf, Autumn, NPHS, 1:31.89.
Girls 100 Yard Breaststroke: 1, Wheeler, Emily, GHS, 1:22.68. 2, Hansen, Beth Ann, GHS, 1:25.47. 3, Brattain, Hannah, GHS, 1:27.87. 4, Kiste, Katie, SPHS, 1:35.30. 5, Roberts, Lyndsay, NPHS, 1:36.68. 6, Anderson, Caitlyn, GHS, 1:39.64. 7, Mason, Kaitlynne, GHS, 1:39.69. 8, Arnold, Megan, SPHS, 1:40.44.
Girls 400 Yard Freestyle Relay: 1, Greencastle High School 'A' (Brush, Elizabeth , Custis, Rachel , Cox, Kaelynn , Gomez, Rosio ), 4:32.88. 2, South Putnam High School 'A' (Beasley, Katie Jo , Shaw, Katie , Kiste, Tori , Beasley, Lyndsie ), 4:42.74. 3, Greencastle High School 'B' (Stevens, Kristen , Moore, Rebecca , Cassida, Sydney , Meyer, Mallary ), 4:42.95. 4, South Putnam High School 'B' (Wilson, Ashley , Kelley, Tasha , Plunkett, Maddison , Sutkowski, Macy ), 5:22.04. 5, North Putnam High School 'A' (Alford, Elizabeth , Moore, Alexandra , Frieje, Samantha , Wolf, Autumn ), 5:25.06.
No. 1 Tigers rely on roles unspoken
Thursday, January 24, 2013
DePauw senior Ellie Pearson does the dirty work inside for the Tigers, but each player knows her role.
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As the top-ranked DePauw University women's basketball team continued it dominant season by totally dismantling Wittenberg on Wednes-day, it became clear that the Tigers are capable of becoming more than a great team, but a legendary one.
DPU is more than just a collection of great players, though it is most certainly that. But it isn't their talent that makes the Tigers special, it's how perfectly constructed they are.
Their individual talents complement one another perfectly. Each player in the rotation has a specific role, tailored perfectly to her skills, and she rarely deviates from it.
"I think we really rely on people accepting roles on this team," DePauw coach Kris Huffman said. "We're looking for people that have that team mentality and selflessness."
As senior Ellie Pearson describes it, the team doesn't talk about roles, it's just a natural progression of how they all play.
"They're kind of unspoken roles," Pearson said. "We don't have any determined roles, but they're kind of known, if that makes sense."
Senior point guard Kate Walker sets the tone for the team -- passing before shooting, looking for open shooters as she attacks the lane -- but she isn't the lone leader.
Pearson is the team's leading rebounder, averaging nearly eight per game (in limited time).
She needs to average a little more than 15 rebounds per game for the rest of the season to set the DePauw career rebounding record, something she is capable of -- were she given the minutes -- but something she won't do because the team is too good for her to play enough.
(None of the starters gets more than 23 minutes per game. The Tigers blow out nearly every opponent. They learn more about execution in practice than they do in games. Echoing the UCLA men's teams of the late 60s, the only team that's physically a match for the DPU starters in the DPU bench.)
Junior Alex Gasaway is the team's leading scorer, utilizing an assortment of DeJuan Blair-like post moves to fight through contact and provide the team it's inside offensive threat.
Junior Ali Ross is the team's defensive stopper. She picks up the opposing point guard full court, hounding her opponent relentlessly.
The fifth starter, sophomore Savannah Trees, is an electric scorer capable of knocking down shots from the outside (she makes better than 50 percent of her threes) or putting the ball on the floor and knocking down a runner in the lane.
"On any given night anyone could go off for 20," Pearson said. "It's just kind of fun sitting in the locker room before the game thinking, 'All right, who is it going to be tonight?' Someone always steps up, but then if you go and look at our team it's very balanced scoring (averages)."
Each of the players is capable of more -- Walker, Ross and even Gasaway are capable of stepping outside and knocking down open threes, "In the flow of the game," Gasaway says; Pearson leads the Tigers in blocks and steals (she had four of each on Wednesday) -- but they never deviate, always staying within themselves.
The roles go beyond the starters.
Junior Alison Stephens would start for any other team in the country. She's and inside-outside scoring threat who is also second on the team in rebounds.
Senior Kat Molloy picks up the defensive pressure when Ross goes to the bench.
It goes on.
Whatever five-woman unit the Tigers have on the court, each player falls into her lane.
The players' willingness to take a step back with her personal numbers to help the team makes the difference between a great team and a legendary one.
It's why Butler made consecutive championship games and why the Los Angeles Lakers -- with four likely Hall of Famers -- are on pace to miss the NBA playoffs.
The players on DePauw's basketball team are very good, maybe even great. The team is phenomenal.
DPU women move to 18-0 by rolling past Wittenberg
Thursday, January 24, 2013
By halftime against Wittenberg, the only thing in question for the DePauw women's basketball team was whether or not it would double-up the score of its opponent. The host Tigers did exactly that, winning 74-37.
"We never go into a game (preparing) like we're better than an opponent. Coach (Huffman) always prepares us the same -- same scouting report, same amount of film, same prep during practice," DPU junior Alex Gasaway said. "But our goal is always to bury them."
Gasaway had a season-high 27 points against Wittenberg despite playing only 18 minutes.
"She had a nice game," Tigers coach Kris Huffman said. "She's coming off having the flu, so it was a good performance. And she wanted the ball, which was nice to see."
DePauw started the game slow, at least by its standards, leading by only two (16-14) with 10:44 left in the first half.
They rolled from there, finishing the half on a 20-4 run to take a 36-18 lead into the break.
Gasaway scored 11 in the first half, then continued where she left off in the second, attacking the basket and getting to the line. She mad 12-of-13 free throws in the game.
"I expect contact when I go in for layups or shots down low, but I don't typically expect for them to call it," Gasaway said. "Sometimes they call it, sometimes they don't. But I expect contact."
The win was DePauw's 43rd straight regular season victory, adding one more to the school-record to start a season. The Tigers are now 18-0.
They'll return to action Saturday when they host Ohio Wesleyan at 1 p.m.
DePauw junior Alex Gasaway pulls in a rebound over Wittenberg on Tuesday. She scored a game- and season-high 27 points.
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
At DePauw
Wittenberg 18 19 -- 37
DePauw 36 38 -- 74
Individual scoring
Wittenberg (8-9, 4-4 NCAC): Rice 3-10 1-2 8, Haralamos 2-8 2-2 6, Lara 2-7 1-2 5, Daniel-Hamberg 2-8 1-2 5, Schroeder 2-3 1-2 5, Replogle 2-5 0-0 4, Skidmore 1-5 0-0 2, Miller 1-3 0-0 2.
DePauw (18-0, 9-0): Gasaway 7-11 12-13 27, Trees 5-9 0-0 11, Stephens 3-7 1-1 8, Molloy 2-4 2-2 7, Pearson 2-6 1-5 5, Walker 2-3 0-0 4, Ross 1-4 1-2 3, Ondik 1-2 0-0 3, Abendroth 1-4 0-0 3, Keller 0-1 2-2 2, McDonagh 0-0 1-2 1, Sarkisian 0-1 0-0 0, Stoner 0-0 0-0 0, Skordos 0-2 0-0 0, Hacker 0-1 0-0 0, Lukemeyer 0-2 0-1 0, Francis 0-0 0-0 0.
Team scoring (three-pointers)
Wittenberg 15-49 (1-15) 6-10 37, DePauw 24-57 (6-13) 20-28 74.
Rebounds (offensive)
Wittenberg 30 (9), DePauw 40 (15).
Turnovers
Wittenberg 23, DePauw 11.
Last-second shot helps Warriors knock out NPHS
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Turkey Run junior Jordan Goddard pulls up for her game-winning layup, shooting over North Putnam juniors Bethany Wiatt (5) and Madi Asbell to get the win.
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
ROACHDALE -- Big Ten fans know that in a slow-paced, every-possession-matters-more kind of game, every mistake and every success is magnified.
So when Turkey Run junior Jordan Goddard sank a layup from the right block as time expired to give her team a 33-32 win at North Putnam, the Cougars had numerous plays they could point to as a culprit.
North Putnam (4-14, 0-3 WCC) had several success on Tuesday: senior Sam Lucas scored 16 points and grabbed 13 rebounds; junior Bethany Wiatt had seven steals, to go along with her seven points; the squad had only 14 turnovers.
But the positives were balanced out by what the Warriors did well: winning the rebound battle 34-29; slowing the game down to their pace.
Most importantly, though, Turkey Run had the ball last.
"I told the girls at halftime that (Turkey Run) was going to try to slow the game down and keep the tempo down and make it low possession," NPHS coach Curtis Lawrence said. "When we see a short bench (Turkey Run dressed six players), we want to try to pick the tempo up."
As Turkey Run (2-17) slowed the pace of the game down to a crawl, the Cougars couldn't ever seem to inject energy.
The crisp, decisive passing of the Warriors negated the NPHS press, and falling back on defense meant sitting in a zone and waiting Turkey Run to make a mistake.
The Cougars capitalized in spurts, but that meant building a lead up to only five.
As the clock ticked away late in the fourth quarter, the Cougars up one point, it seemed like the Warriors would work it down for the last shot.
Turkey Run had tried to burn the final forty seconds of the third quarter in the Four Corners offense, but it turned the ball over late.
As Wiatt dove on a loose ball, the game tied with 11 seconds left in the fourth, they repeated their mistake.
Wiatt tied the ball up and the possession arrow pointed for North Putnam.
Lucas was fouled on the inbounds and sank one-of-two free throws to take the lead with 3.2 seconds remaining.
After a timeout, the Warriors took the ball out on the sideline near half court.
"It was a poor coaching move on my part at the end," Lawrence said. "I shouldn't have had (senior Cayla Kientz) guarding the ball out of bounds with 3.2. I should have had her back in the middle of the lane. That kind of made everybody help."
Senior Chelsie Wood appeared trapped on the sideline but found Goddard under the basket for a layup.
Goddard finished the game with 14 points (six-of-nine from the field) and seven rebounds.
The Cougars will be back in action Friday when they host Greencastle at 6 p.m. It is also the NPHS homecoming.
At North Putnam
Turkey Run 7 5 10 11 -- 33
North Putnam 8 5 12 7 -- 32
Individual scoring
Turkey Run (2-17): Goddard 6-9 2-3 14, Grayless 3-7 1-3 7, Thompson 1-4 0-0 3, Bowling 1-5 0-0 3, Wood 0-9 3-5 3, Basan 1-2 0-0 3.
North Putnam (4-14, 0-3): Lucas 5-11 6-8 16, Wiatt 3-6 1-2 7, Smith 3-10 0-2 6, Asbell 1-7 0-2 2, Kientz 0-1 1-2 1, Nauert 0-2 0-0 0, Aynes 0-3 0-0 0, Land 0-0 0-0 0.
Team scoring (three-pointers)
TR 12-37 (3-12) 6-12 33, NP 12-39 (0-0) 8-16 32.
Rebounds (offensive)
TR 34 (12), NP 29 (11).
Turnovers
TR 20, NP 14.
South Putnam has frustrating second half in loss to Bruins
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
South Putnam junior Sawyer Arnold plants and swings a crossover dribble around the Bruins on Saturday.
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LIZTON -- The South Putnam boys' basketball team was eliminated from contention for a West Central Conference championship on Friday, but it came back Saturday playing hard at Tri-West.
The teams were tight at the half but the Eagles' collective frustration seemed to get the best of them at the break as they lost 67-44.
"We haven't come out in the third quarter this year," SPHS coach Troy Burgess said. "(Friday) night against Monrovia. (It was a) one-point game after two, then a 14-point game after three. We've got to figure something out in that third quarter."
The Eagles (5-7, 1-2 WCC) trailed by only seven at the break (28-21), despite a perfect first half from the field by Bruins junior Austin Lynn (6-6, 14 points).
Instead of building, SPHS came out sloppy. The players committed nine fouls and 10 turnovers in the third quarter, then lost their defensive intensity in the fourth.
"We're not coming out with the same intensity in the third quarter that we play the first and second, and then we dig ourselves a hole," Burgess said. "I don't know. I made a joke last night about it. Maybe I don't go in and talk to them. Maybe I pour them some orange juice and let them sit."
Tri-West (6-6) made 13-of-14 free throws in the final period, and six-of-seven two-point shots, en route to a 24-point quarter.
Sophomore Trevor Waite made eight-of-eight from the line in the final quarter to help secure the win.
Waite and Lynn each finished with game-highs of 22 points.
Junior Sawyer Arnold led the Eagles with 15 points. Junior Trey Moore had nine points and eight rebounds, and senior Justin Bumgardner had three and nine.
"(Tri-West) is a good basketball team," Burgess said. "Against good teams like this, you can't dig yourself a hole."
The Eagles will host Cloverdale on Friday at 7:30 p.m. It will be South Putnam High School's homecoming.
At Tri-West
South Putnam 11 10 9 14 -- 44
Tri-West 14 14 15 24 -- 67
Individual scoring
SP: Arnold 5-13 3-3 15, Moore 2-5 6-9 10, R Chestnut 2-4 2-2 6, Vittetow 2-7 0-1 6, Pell 1-4 1-2 4, Bumgardner 1-6 1-4 3, Mitchell 0-3 0-0 0, Long 0-1 0-1 0, Franklin 0-1 0-0 0, D Chestnut 0-1 0-0 0, Snow 0-0 0-0 0.
TW: Lynn 9-11 3-5 22, Waite 6-12 10-11 22, Alexander 3-8 4-4 10, Burks 4-4 0-2 8, Hendershot 1-5 1-4 3, Phelps 1-3 0-0 2, Koelling 0-5 0-0 0, Musial 0-1 0-0 0, Stamm 0-2 0-0 0, Gadberry 0-0 0-0 0, Miller 0-0 0-0 0, Vervynckt 0-0 0-0 0.
Team scoring (three-pointers)
SP 13-45 (5-14) 13-22 44, TW 24-51 (1-15) 19-28 67.
Rebounds (offensive)
SP 41 (20), TW 19(7).
Turnovers
SP 27, TW 10.
Green stands ground in NP win over Cloverdale
Saturday, January 19, 2013
North Putnam senior Zach Green stands in the lane and braces for contact by Cloverdale junior Zach Dorman. Dorman was called for a charge that helped seal an NPHS win.
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN)[Order this photo]
CLOVERDALE -- As the North Putnam and Cloverdale boys' basketball teams traded baskets throughout the fourth quarter and the clock began ticking down, it was apparent that one big play would decide the game.
North Putnam senior Zach Green made that play and helped the Cougars win, 59-56.
As junior Zach Dorman slashed through the lane, down two points with 31 seconds to go, it looked like it would be his day.
Dorman's eyes widened at the sight of the rim, but he failed to see Green sliding in front of him, planting his feet and standing firm.
As Dorman's layup rattled out, a pile of Zachs clogged the floor of the lane. The official's whistle sounded as he signaled a charge.
"Zach (Green) was tremendous," NPHS coach Nathan Martindale said. "That's the best game I've seen him play. Ever. He came in, he was under control, he scored some, he was quicker than some of the (Cloverdale) guards and he was able to get into the paint and get some layups for us.
"Then he had that huge charge in the fourth quarter. That was a make-or-break situation and we got the call."
Green's play led to a shooting foul at the other end. Junior Shane Beaman made one of two, extending the lead to three.
Sophomore Brantson Scott, who tied with Dorman as the game's high-scorer with 17, answered with a layup with 10 seconds left.
The subsequent inbounds pass missed its intended target, but Brody Pfaff was called for a foul as he and NPHS junior Jordan Nauert dove after the ball.
Nauert sank the pair, putting NPHS up three with six seconds left.
"He can do whatever he wants," Martindale said. "He's the type of kid that can shoot it when he needs to. He can pass it when he needs it. We even had him on the big kid (Dorman) tonight ... He's a very versatile player for us. We can put him in many different positions. I don't know too many guys that can defend the post and go out and play point guard on the way down.
"It was a total team-effort. All eight guys played great minutes for us."
The Clovers had been in similar situations before. They entered the game 3-2 in one-possession games including a buzzer-beating shot to beat Clay City last Saturday.
Unlike the other situations, when the players were taught to drive to the basket, Cloverdale trailed NPHS by three.
CHS coach Pat Rady called for a timeout.
"We wanted to get a three-point shot," Rady said. "We had two people lined up and they covered the other one (Collet) pretty well, so we went for the three-point shot (with Scott)."
Scott's attempt rattled out and Beaman hauled in the rebound to run out the clock.
The game hadn't always been close.
Cloverdale trailed 34-23 at the break, then proceeded to go on a 19-4 run to start the third quarter. Scott and junior Kedrick Collet (seven points in the quarter) sparked the rally that had the two teams enter the fourth quarter tied at 42.
The Clovers were helped by the foul trouble of the North Putnam bigs, seniors Jameson Brewer and Jake Haste.
"Our bigs played a little tentative because of fouls, so (Cloverdale was) able to get some things that they normally wouldn't have gotten," Martindale said.
Rady said that was all part of the plan.
"When we got certain guys in foul trouble, we were trying to put (Brewer and Haste) in low-post position and force them to have to defend," Rady said. "A lot of times when a guy's got foul trouble he won't defend as well."
Green finished with 11 points and a team-high seven rebounds.
North Putnam hosts Greencastle on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Cloverdale travels to South Putnam on the same date and time.
North Putnam junior Jordan Nauert blocks a slamdunk attempt by Cloverdale junior Zach Dorman in the third quarter on Friday.
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
At Cloverdale
North Putnam 16 18 8 17 -- 59
Cloverdale 10 13 19 14 -- 56
Individual scoring
North Putnam (3-10, 1-1 WCC): Brewer 8-17 0-3 16, Green 5-13 0-0 11, Hazelgrove 3-8 2-4 10, Nauert 1-6 3-4 6, Roberts 2-2 1-3 5, Beaman 1-2 1-2 4, Haste 2-6 0-0 4, Flynn 1-1 0-0 2.
Cloverdale (3-11, 0-4): Z Dorman 6-14 5-8 17, Scott 6-11 4-7 17, Collet 5-10 0-0 13 Pfaff 1-3 2-4 4, B Dorman 1-2 0-0 3, Schroer 0-4 0-0 0, Cupp 0-1 0-0 0.
Team scoring (three-pointers)
NP 23-55 (6-13) 7-16 59, CL 19-45 (5-15) 11-19 56.
Rebounds (offensive)
NP 30 (12), CL 30 (10).
Turnovers
NP 10, CL 17.
Clovers fend off pesky Cougars
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Cloverdale senior Amillia Nally drives down the lane to hit a runner over the outstretched arm of North Putnam junior Bethany Wiatt. It was Nally's only field goal, but she assisted on seven others.
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN)
CLOVERDALE -- The North Putnam girls' basketball team has come a long way since the Putnam County Tournament in November, but Cloverdale's changes were more evident on Friday when the Clovers won 46-32.
Cloverdale (7-11, 1-3 WCC) was led by senior point guard Amillia Nally, who assisted on seven of the team's 12 field goals.
"She's stepped up really big in these last three or four games," CHS coach Matthew Langdon said. "She's just really finding what it means to be a true point guard. She's the calming effect on the team. She's starting to learn when to attack and when not to attack.
"And that's great. There's going to be times when there's chances for those assists and there's times to dribble it out and pull it back and set it up."
North Putnam (4-13, 0-3) counted on the rebounding of senior Sam Lucas to keep it in the game. She finished with 11 boards.
Though neither team is dominant in both the perimeter and post, basketball comes down to matchups and the Clovers and Cougars present nightmares for one another.
Cloverdale's strength is in its guard play, where senior Nally, Paige Gruener and Bristy Skiles, along with sophomore Bailee Stevens, cause headaches with their aggressiveness and quickness.
North Putnam's forwards, seniors Lucas, Cayla Kientz and Cassie Aynes and freshman Taylor Nauert, have the size and aggressiveness the Cloverdale struggles with.
"It was physical both ways," NPHS coach Curtis Lawrence said. "Matthew (Langdon)'s kids did an outstanding job against us, just bodying our kids up and not letting us get those easy buckets on the inside."
The Cougars hung tough until halftime, trailing only by five (23-18) but the third quarter is where they've struggled all year.
"They held us for the first (ten) minutes of the second half to one point," Lawrence said. "If you go through a stretch like that, you're not going to win many ball games ... We had talked about, in the locker room (at halftime) coming out and trying to win the third quarter, and that seems to be the quarter we struggle with offensively."
The low-scoring third begat what was, by comparison, an explosive fourth.
Cloverdale's guards penetrated straight to the rim, drawing fouls and won the game at the line.
The Clovers made 10-of-14 from the charity stripe in the fourth, seizing the game.
The host Turkey Run on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. Cloverdale is back in action Friday in a pivotal conference showdown at South Putnam at 6 p.m.
At Cloverdale
North Putnam 8 10 1 13 -- 32
Cloverdale 11 12 5 18 -- 46
Individual scoring
North Putnam (4-13, 0-3): Wiatt 4-6 1-5 9, Asbell 2-14 3-4 8, Smith 1-6 2-2 5, Lucas 2-14 3-4 5, Kientz 1-1 0-1 2, Aynes 1-2 0-0 2, Nauert 0-3 0-0 0, Land 0-0 0-0 0.
Cloverdale (7-11, 1-3): Gruener 5-9 2-2 14, Shrum 3-5 2-2 8, Skiles 2-7 0-0 6, Clark 3-8 0-4 6, Stevens 1-1 3-6 5, Walters 1-1 2-2 4, Nally 1-8 1-2 3.
Team scoring (three-pointers)
NP 11-46 (1-6) 8-15 32, CL 12-40 (4-12) 10-15 46.
Rebounds (offensive)
NP 25 (10), CL 31 (7).
Turnovers
NP 20, CL 15.
Winning by a hair: pre-wrap versus headbands
Friday, January 18, 2013
North Putnam sophomore Morgan Smith and Southmont senior Jess Chadd demonstrate the two biggest factions in hair restraint. Smith, wearing a headband here, said she prefers to wear pre-wrap during games.
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
ROACHDALE -- When the North Putnam and Cloverdale girls' basketball teams clash tonight, the fans and coaches will have only one goal in mind: have the basketball drop through the hoop for us more than the opponent.
Basketball is a team game and when five players work together in synchronicity on the court, goals like winning the game are usually met.
But the players will each fight an individual battle, one that can divide teammates and fracture the pregame morale.
On this one topic, school pride takes a backseat to personal benefit. The battle not with the scoreboard, but with their hair.
Pre-wrap or headband?
"I use pre-wrap when I tape my ankles. I don't want it in my hair," North Putnam senior Cayla Kientz said. "I like headbands. The pre-wrap comes off my head and headbands stick better."
Her teammate, NPHS sophomore Morgan Smith had a notably different perspective.
"I have three rolls of pre-wrap in my bag right now -- orange, black and maroon," Smith said.
Others, like NPHS senior Cassie Aynes and junior Bethany Wiatt, don't have much use for either. With longer hair and no bangs, a ponytail is sufficient enough.
"If I start the game with a headband, it falls off before the game is over," Aynes said.
Needless to say, Wiatt and Aynes aren't looking forward to the game next Friday when they and the rest of the team will where pink headbands to support breast cancer awareness.
The hair-restraining products shouldn't be an issue at all, but the pesky Indiana High School Athletic Association requires everyone's uniform to be ... uniform.
Headgear has to match the color of the uniform, and everyone has to be the same. If one player wears blue, so does everyone else.
For this reason alone, pre-wrap is a more sensible solution.
A three-dollar roll can last all season long -- more if the player uses the knotted strip for multiple games and practices. Most don't, but some do.
Players can pass the roll around in the locker room before games and get their hair taken care of quickly.
The problem is that what works for one doesn't work for everyone else.
Pre-wrap can be hairsprayed to stay in place, though not everyone sprays her hair.
Different types of hair require different solutions.
"Normally I wear pre-wraps because they stay in better," NPHS freshman Taylor Nauert said. "If a headband has the grippy stuff it will stay in better."
Wide, elastic headbands work well for curly hair, but for others neither a headband nor pre-wrap will get the job done.
"The Nike (sweatbands) are the only thing that will stay in my hair," NPHS sophomore Brooke Smith said. "Pre-wrap, headbands, nothing else will stay."
Regardless of the technique, every girl has a system that works for her, though it can change over time.
NPHS JV coach Laura Blaydes wore a sweatband for every game in high school, then switched to pre-wrap when she played at IUPUI.
"When I played at IUPUI I wore pre-wrap every game," Blaydes said. "All of my teammates wore pre-wrap."
Aside from the economic difference, pre-wrap has another advantage to headbands; it's versatility.
Worn wide, pre-wrap can help snag loose bangs. Twisted together tightly, it holds everything with minimal attention.
A few extra years of experience has given Blaydes, a 2011 graduate of IUPUI, a chance to pick up a few extra pre-wrap tips.
"I double-layered it so it doesn't break," she said, mimicking stretching out pre-wrap and folding it overtop of itself before tying it.
The techniques are passed down from one class to the next; seniors sharing secrets with freshman.
Growing in popularity, pre-wrap has become more accessible in recent years.
Just a couple years ago Blaydes had to buy plain white on the Internet by going to what she called "middle-school websites."
Now, pre-wrap comes in a variety of colors and designs and is available at niche clothing and accessory stores.
There are other solutions, or combinations, that are out there for long-haired basketball players.
Several of the girls, speaking on the condition of anonymity, also said a deliberately placed bobby pin can help do the trick, but be careful.
"You're not allowed to wear bobby pins," one girl said.
"You have to hide them under your hair and pre-wrap is good for that," said another.
Whatever the product, when the game is on, function takes precedent over fashion. Like ill-fitting undergarments that require constant adjustment, hair can be a distraction during games.
Bangs can slip out and block vision. Tangles can bunch up and become uncomfortable. Anything it takes for an athlete to keep her hair in position and keep her focus on the game is what she'll do.
When it comes to pre-wrap versus headbands, the only winning side is the side that works.
Morgan Smith demonstrates her technique for tying pre-wrap for each game. Smith often prefers holding her hair back with headbands in social situations, but pre-wrap when it's time to compete. Pre-wrap is inexpensive and takes only a few seconds to custom-fit for each person by tying a single knot.
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN)
Note to readers:
1) By request, interviews with Cloverdale players and coaches have not been included.
2) Please don't take this story too seriously.
© Copyright 2013 Greencastle Banner-Graphic. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Tiger Cub girls take county swim title
Friday, January 25, 2013
Greencastle's senior captains Kaitlynne Mason (center) and Kaelynn Cox celebrate winning the 2013 Putnam County girls' swimming and diving championship by claiming the trophy with head coach Kent Menzel.
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The Greencastle girls' swimming and diving team completed a local tournament sweep on Thursday, winning the 2013 Putnam County meet at South Putnam with 315 points.
The Tiger Cubs won the West Central Conference title a few weeks ago.
At the county meet South Putnam finished second with 196 and North Putnam was third with 95.
GHS had county champions in 10 of the 12 events, including wins in each of the three valuable relays.
Mallary Meyer, Emily Wheeler, Amelia Smith, Corrie Romer, Libby Brush, Amelia Smith, Rosio Gomez, Kaelynn Cox and Rachel Custis each won individual or relay victories.
"Given where we are in our plans for next week, I think they swam very, very well," GHS coach Kent Menzel said. "I was particularly happy with our relays. I thought they were on top of things tonight ... I thought they all meshed really well."
The Tiger Cubs have been relaxing their training in preparation for the start of the postseason next week.
Preliminaries for the sectional meet are Thursday night in Avon, and Menzel said he is hoping the team will be peaking at the right time.
"The girls were working on events that they're going to be swimming next week at the sectional," Menzel said. "They're where we want them to be. As the next seven days unfold, I think we'll sharpen them up quite a bit."
The Eagles had one individual champion, freshman diver Maddison Plunkett, to combine with several strong races.
"She got a little worked up; I don't know that she was happy with her performance," SPHS coach Matt Edwards said. "But I'm happy to see both her and Courtney (Sullivan) come out on top for one and two. They were first and second in both conference and county.
"That's a pretty big accomplishment. They both work very hard. They're in here morning after morning, trying to perfect things."
The Eagles' girls had mixed emotions about the meet, Edwards said, because it is the final regular season meet of the year.
"They know that this is their last 'season' kind of meet," Edwards said. "A lot of them wanted to swim their best times. And they did a heck of a job with that.
"The biggest thing I noticed tonight was just their racing. They put on some really good races. I've got to give credit to North Putnam and Greencastle, because they're good competitors, and our girls know that.
"Tonight was really about beating the girls to the left and to the right of them ... and practicing good racing. They did wonders, and I'm really proud of them."
North Putnam came through with one with individual champion as well. Elizabeth Alford swam an impressive 2:19.27 in the 200-yard freestyle, winning the race by nearly six seconds.
"The standout was Elizabeth Alford," NPHS coach Tony Gray said. "She won the county championship in the 200 and almost pulled it out in the 100. She just didn't quite have a good turn in that last wall, but she's worked really hard this year. I think the best things are in the future for her."
The Cougars have been improving steadily throughout the year and the county meet was a positive conclusion to the regular season, Gray said.
"The girls did a good job," he said. "They had fun tonight, they competed hard. Maybe the times weren't exactly where we wanted, but they just started taper.
"They're smiling so I'm smiling."
With the postseason approaching quickly, each team competing Thursday came into the meet hoping to be ready for next Thursday's sectional 11 preliminary races at Avon.
Greencastle swimmers Mallary Meyer (top) and Rachel Custis fight for the finish line in the 100-yard backstroke event on Thursday. Meyer out-touched Custis to come away with a win and secure the county championship with a time of 1:12.97.
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
At South Putnam
2013 Girls' Putnam County Championship
Team score -- Final
1, Greencastle High School, 315. 2, South Putnam High School, 196. 3, North Putnam High School, 95.
Event results
Girls 200 Yard Medley Relay: 1, Greencastle High School 'A' (Meyer, Mallary , Wheeler, Emily , Smith, Amelia , Romer, Corrie ), 2:09.02. 2, South Putnam High School 'A' (Deszi, Morgan , Kiste, Katie , Beasley, Lyndsie , Hansel, Katie ), 2:21.56. 3, Greencastle High School 'B' (Mason, Kaitlynne , Hansen, Beth Ann , Cassida, Sydney , Custis, Rachel ), 2:24.25. 4, North Putnam High School 'A' (Gray, Hannah , Roberts, Lyndsay , Muse, Rebecca , Livesay, Sierra ), 2:32.93. 5, South Putnam High School 'B' (Plunkett, Maddison , Arnold, Megan , Shaw, Katie , Sutkowski, Macy ), 2:36.15.
Girls 200 Yard Freestyle: 1, Alford, Elizabeth, NPHS, 2:19.27. 2, Beasley, Katie Jo, SPHS, 2:25.22. 3, Cox, Kaelynn, GHS, 2:32.82. 4, Moore, Rebecca, GHS, 2:37.80. 5, Deszi, Morgan, SPHS, 2:38.18. 6, Stevens, Kristen, GHS, 2:39.32. 7, Wilson, Ashley, SPHS, 2:46.48. 8, Roberts, Jessica, GHS, 2:53.08. 9, Mason, Kaitlynne, GHS, 2:53.11. 10, Frieje, Samantha, NPHS, 2:53.98. 11, Buchanon, Rorie, NPHS, 3:20.75.
Girls 200 Yard Individual Medley: 1, Brush, Elizabeth, GHS, 2:38.92. 2, Wheeler, Emily, GHS, 2:45.24. 3, Gomez, Rosio, GHS, 2:47.16. 4, Kiste, Katie, SPHS, 3:02.81. 5, Arnold, Megan, SPHS, 3:05.18. 6, Hansen, Beth Ann, GHS, 3:06.64. 7, Muse, Rebecca, NPHS, 3:08.45. 8, Kelley, Tasha, SPHS, 3:30.12.
Girls 50 Yard Freestyle: 1, Smith, Amelia, GHS, 28.12. 2, Romer, Corrie, GHS, 28.13. 3, Custis, Rachel, GHS, 29.35. 4, Hansel, Katie, SPHS, 30.03. 5, Moore, Alexandra, NPHS, 32.55. 6, Kiste, Tori, SPHS, 32.74. 7, Livesay, Sierra, NPHS, 33.17. 8, Brattain, Hannah, GHS, 34.94. 9, Gray, Hannah, NPHS, 36.03. 10, Hettich, Michayla, SPHS, 36.36. 11, Fauvergue, Madi, GHS, 39.93. 12, McDaniel, Erin, NPHS, 41.37.
Girls 1 meter Diving: 1, Plunkett, Maddison, SPHS, 138.75. 2, Sullivan, Courtney, SPHS, 136.15. 3, Cassida, Sydney, GHS, 112.35. 4, Fauvergue, Madi, GHS, 106.65.
Girls 100 Yard Butterfly: 1, Gomez, Rosio, GHS, 1:12.82. 2, Meyer, Mallary, GHS, 1:13.32. 3, Beasley, Lyndsie, SPHS, 1:22.94. 4, Shaw, Katie, SPHS, 1:34.69. 5, Muse, Rebecca, NPHS, 1:35.16. 6, Kelley, Tasha, SPHS, 1:38.21. 7, Roberts, Jessica, GHS, 1:42.97.
Girls 100 Yard Freestyle: 1, Romer, Corrie, GHS, 1:03.28. 2, Smith, Amelia, GHS, 1:03.35. 3, Alford, Elizabeth, NPHS, 1:04.17. 4, Cox, Kaelynn, GHS, 1:04.46. 5, Beasley, Katie Jo, SPHS, 1:05.90. 6, Kiste, Tori, SPHS, 1:12.70. 7, Moore, Alexandra, NPHS, 1:14.71. 8, Sutkowski, Macy, SPHS, 1:15.54. 9, Livesay, Sierra, NPHS, 1:17.89. 10, Roberts, Lyndsay, NPHS, 1:22.59. 11, Anderson, Caitlyn, GHS, 1:24.37. 12, McDaniel, Erin, NPHS, 1:37.24.
Girls 500 Yard Freestyle: 1, Brush, Elizabeth, GHS, 6:29.86. 2, Hansel, Katie, SPHS, 6:50.70. 3, Moore, Rebecca, GHS, 7:00.62. 4, Wilson, Ashley, SPHS, 7:16.07. 5, Stevens, Kristen, GHS, 7:16.93. 6, Frieje, Samantha, NPHS, 7:57.06. 7, Wolf, Autumn, NPHS, 8:00.19. 8, Buchanon, Rorie, NPHS, 9:34.65.
Girls 200 Yard Freestyle Relay: 1, Greencastle High School 'A' (Wheeler, Emily , Cox, Kaelynn , Romer, Corrie , Smith, Amelia ), 1:54.27. 2, South Putnam High School 'A' (Beasley, Katie Jo , Shaw, Katie , Beasley, Lyndsie , Hansel, Katie ), 2:02.82. 3, North Putnam High School 'A' (Alford, Elizabeth , Livesay, Sierra , Moore, Alexandra , Muse, Rebecca ), 2:05.87. 4, Greencastle High School 'B' (Roberts, Jessica , Mason, Kaitlynne , Gomez, Rosio , Moore, Rebecca ), 2:11.03. 5, South Putnam High School 'B' (Kiste, Tori , Arnold, Megan , Kiste, Katie , Sutkowski, Macy ), 2:13.71.
Girls 100 Yard Backstroke: 1, Meyer, Mallary, GHS, 1:12.97. 2, Custis, Rachel, GHS, 1:13.43. 3, Cassida, Sydney, GHS, 1:14.95. 4, Deszi, Morgan, SPHS, 1:18.02. 5, Plunkett, Maddison, SPHS, 1:28.02. 6, Gray, Hannah, NPHS, 1:30.48. 7, Wolf, Autumn, NPHS, 1:31.89.
Girls 100 Yard Breaststroke: 1, Wheeler, Emily, GHS, 1:22.68. 2, Hansen, Beth Ann, GHS, 1:25.47. 3, Brattain, Hannah, GHS, 1:27.87. 4, Kiste, Katie, SPHS, 1:35.30. 5, Roberts, Lyndsay, NPHS, 1:36.68. 6, Anderson, Caitlyn, GHS, 1:39.64. 7, Mason, Kaitlynne, GHS, 1:39.69. 8, Arnold, Megan, SPHS, 1:40.44.
Girls 400 Yard Freestyle Relay: 1, Greencastle High School 'A' (Brush, Elizabeth , Custis, Rachel , Cox, Kaelynn , Gomez, Rosio ), 4:32.88. 2, South Putnam High School 'A' (Beasley, Katie Jo , Shaw, Katie , Kiste, Tori , Beasley, Lyndsie ), 4:42.74. 3, Greencastle High School 'B' (Stevens, Kristen , Moore, Rebecca , Cassida, Sydney , Meyer, Mallary ), 4:42.95. 4, South Putnam High School 'B' (Wilson, Ashley , Kelley, Tasha , Plunkett, Maddison , Sutkowski, Macy ), 5:22.04. 5, North Putnam High School 'A' (Alford, Elizabeth , Moore, Alexandra , Frieje, Samantha , Wolf, Autumn ), 5:25.06.
No. 1 Tigers rely on roles unspoken
Thursday, January 24, 2013
DePauw senior Ellie Pearson does the dirty work inside for the Tigers, but each player knows her role.
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As the top-ranked DePauw University women's basketball team continued it dominant season by totally dismantling Wittenberg on Wednes-day, it became clear that the Tigers are capable of becoming more than a great team, but a legendary one.
DPU is more than just a collection of great players, though it is most certainly that. But it isn't their talent that makes the Tigers special, it's how perfectly constructed they are.
Their individual talents complement one another perfectly. Each player in the rotation has a specific role, tailored perfectly to her skills, and she rarely deviates from it.
"I think we really rely on people accepting roles on this team," DePauw coach Kris Huffman said. "We're looking for people that have that team mentality and selflessness."
As senior Ellie Pearson describes it, the team doesn't talk about roles, it's just a natural progression of how they all play.
"They're kind of unspoken roles," Pearson said. "We don't have any determined roles, but they're kind of known, if that makes sense."
Senior point guard Kate Walker sets the tone for the team -- passing before shooting, looking for open shooters as she attacks the lane -- but she isn't the lone leader.
Pearson is the team's leading rebounder, averaging nearly eight per game (in limited time).
She needs to average a little more than 15 rebounds per game for the rest of the season to set the DePauw career rebounding record, something she is capable of -- were she given the minutes -- but something she won't do because the team is too good for her to play enough.
(None of the starters gets more than 23 minutes per game. The Tigers blow out nearly every opponent. They learn more about execution in practice than they do in games. Echoing the UCLA men's teams of the late 60s, the only team that's physically a match for the DPU starters in the DPU bench.)
Junior Alex Gasaway is the team's leading scorer, utilizing an assortment of DeJuan Blair-like post moves to fight through contact and provide the team it's inside offensive threat.
Junior Ali Ross is the team's defensive stopper. She picks up the opposing point guard full court, hounding her opponent relentlessly.
The fifth starter, sophomore Savannah Trees, is an electric scorer capable of knocking down shots from the outside (she makes better than 50 percent of her threes) or putting the ball on the floor and knocking down a runner in the lane.
"On any given night anyone could go off for 20," Pearson said. "It's just kind of fun sitting in the locker room before the game thinking, 'All right, who is it going to be tonight?' Someone always steps up, but then if you go and look at our team it's very balanced scoring (averages)."
Each of the players is capable of more -- Walker, Ross and even Gasaway are capable of stepping outside and knocking down open threes, "In the flow of the game," Gasaway says; Pearson leads the Tigers in blocks and steals (she had four of each on Wednesday) -- but they never deviate, always staying within themselves.
The roles go beyond the starters.
Junior Alison Stephens would start for any other team in the country. She's and inside-outside scoring threat who is also second on the team in rebounds.
Senior Kat Molloy picks up the defensive pressure when Ross goes to the bench.
It goes on.
Whatever five-woman unit the Tigers have on the court, each player falls into her lane.
The players' willingness to take a step back with her personal numbers to help the team makes the difference between a great team and a legendary one.
It's why Butler made consecutive championship games and why the Los Angeles Lakers -- with four likely Hall of Famers -- are on pace to miss the NBA playoffs.
The players on DePauw's basketball team are very good, maybe even great. The team is phenomenal.
DPU women move to 18-0 by rolling past Wittenberg
Thursday, January 24, 2013
By halftime against Wittenberg, the only thing in question for the DePauw women's basketball team was whether or not it would double-up the score of its opponent. The host Tigers did exactly that, winning 74-37.
"We never go into a game (preparing) like we're better than an opponent. Coach (Huffman) always prepares us the same -- same scouting report, same amount of film, same prep during practice," DPU junior Alex Gasaway said. "But our goal is always to bury them."
Gasaway had a season-high 27 points against Wittenberg despite playing only 18 minutes.
"She had a nice game," Tigers coach Kris Huffman said. "She's coming off having the flu, so it was a good performance. And she wanted the ball, which was nice to see."
DePauw started the game slow, at least by its standards, leading by only two (16-14) with 10:44 left in the first half.
They rolled from there, finishing the half on a 20-4 run to take a 36-18 lead into the break.
Gasaway scored 11 in the first half, then continued where she left off in the second, attacking the basket and getting to the line. She mad 12-of-13 free throws in the game.
"I expect contact when I go in for layups or shots down low, but I don't typically expect for them to call it," Gasaway said. "Sometimes they call it, sometimes they don't. But I expect contact."
The win was DePauw's 43rd straight regular season victory, adding one more to the school-record to start a season. The Tigers are now 18-0.
They'll return to action Saturday when they host Ohio Wesleyan at 1 p.m.
DePauw junior Alex Gasaway pulls in a rebound over Wittenberg on Tuesday. She scored a game- and season-high 27 points.
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
At DePauw
Wittenberg 18 19 -- 37
DePauw 36 38 -- 74
Individual scoring
Wittenberg (8-9, 4-4 NCAC): Rice 3-10 1-2 8, Haralamos 2-8 2-2 6, Lara 2-7 1-2 5, Daniel-Hamberg 2-8 1-2 5, Schroeder 2-3 1-2 5, Replogle 2-5 0-0 4, Skidmore 1-5 0-0 2, Miller 1-3 0-0 2.
DePauw (18-0, 9-0): Gasaway 7-11 12-13 27, Trees 5-9 0-0 11, Stephens 3-7 1-1 8, Molloy 2-4 2-2 7, Pearson 2-6 1-5 5, Walker 2-3 0-0 4, Ross 1-4 1-2 3, Ondik 1-2 0-0 3, Abendroth 1-4 0-0 3, Keller 0-1 2-2 2, McDonagh 0-0 1-2 1, Sarkisian 0-1 0-0 0, Stoner 0-0 0-0 0, Skordos 0-2 0-0 0, Hacker 0-1 0-0 0, Lukemeyer 0-2 0-1 0, Francis 0-0 0-0 0.
Team scoring (three-pointers)
Wittenberg 15-49 (1-15) 6-10 37, DePauw 24-57 (6-13) 20-28 74.
Rebounds (offensive)
Wittenberg 30 (9), DePauw 40 (15).
Turnovers
Wittenberg 23, DePauw 11.
Last-second shot helps Warriors knock out NPHS
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Turkey Run junior Jordan Goddard pulls up for her game-winning layup, shooting over North Putnam juniors Bethany Wiatt (5) and Madi Asbell to get the win.
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
ROACHDALE -- Big Ten fans know that in a slow-paced, every-possession-matters-more kind of game, every mistake and every success is magnified.
So when Turkey Run junior Jordan Goddard sank a layup from the right block as time expired to give her team a 33-32 win at North Putnam, the Cougars had numerous plays they could point to as a culprit.
North Putnam (4-14, 0-3 WCC) had several success on Tuesday: senior Sam Lucas scored 16 points and grabbed 13 rebounds; junior Bethany Wiatt had seven steals, to go along with her seven points; the squad had only 14 turnovers.
But the positives were balanced out by what the Warriors did well: winning the rebound battle 34-29; slowing the game down to their pace.
Most importantly, though, Turkey Run had the ball last.
"I told the girls at halftime that (Turkey Run) was going to try to slow the game down and keep the tempo down and make it low possession," NPHS coach Curtis Lawrence said. "When we see a short bench (Turkey Run dressed six players), we want to try to pick the tempo up."
As Turkey Run (2-17) slowed the pace of the game down to a crawl, the Cougars couldn't ever seem to inject energy.
The crisp, decisive passing of the Warriors negated the NPHS press, and falling back on defense meant sitting in a zone and waiting Turkey Run to make a mistake.
The Cougars capitalized in spurts, but that meant building a lead up to only five.
As the clock ticked away late in the fourth quarter, the Cougars up one point, it seemed like the Warriors would work it down for the last shot.
Turkey Run had tried to burn the final forty seconds of the third quarter in the Four Corners offense, but it turned the ball over late.
As Wiatt dove on a loose ball, the game tied with 11 seconds left in the fourth, they repeated their mistake.
Wiatt tied the ball up and the possession arrow pointed for North Putnam.
Lucas was fouled on the inbounds and sank one-of-two free throws to take the lead with 3.2 seconds remaining.
After a timeout, the Warriors took the ball out on the sideline near half court.
"It was a poor coaching move on my part at the end," Lawrence said. "I shouldn't have had (senior Cayla Kientz) guarding the ball out of bounds with 3.2. I should have had her back in the middle of the lane. That kind of made everybody help."
Senior Chelsie Wood appeared trapped on the sideline but found Goddard under the basket for a layup.
Goddard finished the game with 14 points (six-of-nine from the field) and seven rebounds.
The Cougars will be back in action Friday when they host Greencastle at 6 p.m. It is also the NPHS homecoming.
At North Putnam
Turkey Run 7 5 10 11 -- 33
North Putnam 8 5 12 7 -- 32
Individual scoring
Turkey Run (2-17): Goddard 6-9 2-3 14, Grayless 3-7 1-3 7, Thompson 1-4 0-0 3, Bowling 1-5 0-0 3, Wood 0-9 3-5 3, Basan 1-2 0-0 3.
North Putnam (4-14, 0-3): Lucas 5-11 6-8 16, Wiatt 3-6 1-2 7, Smith 3-10 0-2 6, Asbell 1-7 0-2 2, Kientz 0-1 1-2 1, Nauert 0-2 0-0 0, Aynes 0-3 0-0 0, Land 0-0 0-0 0.
Team scoring (three-pointers)
TR 12-37 (3-12) 6-12 33, NP 12-39 (0-0) 8-16 32.
Rebounds (offensive)
TR 34 (12), NP 29 (11).
Turnovers
TR 20, NP 14.
South Putnam has frustrating second half in loss to Bruins
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
South Putnam junior Sawyer Arnold plants and swings a crossover dribble around the Bruins on Saturday.
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
LIZTON -- The South Putnam boys' basketball team was eliminated from contention for a West Central Conference championship on Friday, but it came back Saturday playing hard at Tri-West.
The teams were tight at the half but the Eagles' collective frustration seemed to get the best of them at the break as they lost 67-44.
"We haven't come out in the third quarter this year," SPHS coach Troy Burgess said. "(Friday) night against Monrovia. (It was a) one-point game after two, then a 14-point game after three. We've got to figure something out in that third quarter."
The Eagles (5-7, 1-2 WCC) trailed by only seven at the break (28-21), despite a perfect first half from the field by Bruins junior Austin Lynn (6-6, 14 points).
Instead of building, SPHS came out sloppy. The players committed nine fouls and 10 turnovers in the third quarter, then lost their defensive intensity in the fourth.
"We're not coming out with the same intensity in the third quarter that we play the first and second, and then we dig ourselves a hole," Burgess said. "I don't know. I made a joke last night about it. Maybe I don't go in and talk to them. Maybe I pour them some orange juice and let them sit."
Tri-West (6-6) made 13-of-14 free throws in the final period, and six-of-seven two-point shots, en route to a 24-point quarter.
Sophomore Trevor Waite made eight-of-eight from the line in the final quarter to help secure the win.
Waite and Lynn each finished with game-highs of 22 points.
Junior Sawyer Arnold led the Eagles with 15 points. Junior Trey Moore had nine points and eight rebounds, and senior Justin Bumgardner had three and nine.
"(Tri-West) is a good basketball team," Burgess said. "Against good teams like this, you can't dig yourself a hole."
The Eagles will host Cloverdale on Friday at 7:30 p.m. It will be South Putnam High School's homecoming.
At Tri-West
South Putnam 11 10 9 14 -- 44
Tri-West 14 14 15 24 -- 67
Individual scoring
SP: Arnold 5-13 3-3 15, Moore 2-5 6-9 10, R Chestnut 2-4 2-2 6, Vittetow 2-7 0-1 6, Pell 1-4 1-2 4, Bumgardner 1-6 1-4 3, Mitchell 0-3 0-0 0, Long 0-1 0-1 0, Franklin 0-1 0-0 0, D Chestnut 0-1 0-0 0, Snow 0-0 0-0 0.
TW: Lynn 9-11 3-5 22, Waite 6-12 10-11 22, Alexander 3-8 4-4 10, Burks 4-4 0-2 8, Hendershot 1-5 1-4 3, Phelps 1-3 0-0 2, Koelling 0-5 0-0 0, Musial 0-1 0-0 0, Stamm 0-2 0-0 0, Gadberry 0-0 0-0 0, Miller 0-0 0-0 0, Vervynckt 0-0 0-0 0.
Team scoring (three-pointers)
SP 13-45 (5-14) 13-22 44, TW 24-51 (1-15) 19-28 67.
Rebounds (offensive)
SP 41 (20), TW 19(7).
Turnovers
SP 27, TW 10.
Green stands ground in NP win over Cloverdale
Saturday, January 19, 2013
North Putnam senior Zach Green stands in the lane and braces for contact by Cloverdale junior Zach Dorman. Dorman was called for a charge that helped seal an NPHS win.
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CLOVERDALE -- As the North Putnam and Cloverdale boys' basketball teams traded baskets throughout the fourth quarter and the clock began ticking down, it was apparent that one big play would decide the game.
North Putnam senior Zach Green made that play and helped the Cougars win, 59-56.
As junior Zach Dorman slashed through the lane, down two points with 31 seconds to go, it looked like it would be his day.
Dorman's eyes widened at the sight of the rim, but he failed to see Green sliding in front of him, planting his feet and standing firm.
As Dorman's layup rattled out, a pile of Zachs clogged the floor of the lane. The official's whistle sounded as he signaled a charge.
"Zach (Green) was tremendous," NPHS coach Nathan Martindale said. "That's the best game I've seen him play. Ever. He came in, he was under control, he scored some, he was quicker than some of the (Cloverdale) guards and he was able to get into the paint and get some layups for us.
"Then he had that huge charge in the fourth quarter. That was a make-or-break situation and we got the call."
Green's play led to a shooting foul at the other end. Junior Shane Beaman made one of two, extending the lead to three.
Sophomore Brantson Scott, who tied with Dorman as the game's high-scorer with 17, answered with a layup with 10 seconds left.
The subsequent inbounds pass missed its intended target, but Brody Pfaff was called for a foul as he and NPHS junior Jordan Nauert dove after the ball.
Nauert sank the pair, putting NPHS up three with six seconds left.
"He can do whatever he wants," Martindale said. "He's the type of kid that can shoot it when he needs to. He can pass it when he needs it. We even had him on the big kid (Dorman) tonight ... He's a very versatile player for us. We can put him in many different positions. I don't know too many guys that can defend the post and go out and play point guard on the way down.
"It was a total team-effort. All eight guys played great minutes for us."
The Clovers had been in similar situations before. They entered the game 3-2 in one-possession games including a buzzer-beating shot to beat Clay City last Saturday.
Unlike the other situations, when the players were taught to drive to the basket, Cloverdale trailed NPHS by three.
CHS coach Pat Rady called for a timeout.
"We wanted to get a three-point shot," Rady said. "We had two people lined up and they covered the other one (Collet) pretty well, so we went for the three-point shot (with Scott)."
Scott's attempt rattled out and Beaman hauled in the rebound to run out the clock.
The game hadn't always been close.
Cloverdale trailed 34-23 at the break, then proceeded to go on a 19-4 run to start the third quarter. Scott and junior Kedrick Collet (seven points in the quarter) sparked the rally that had the two teams enter the fourth quarter tied at 42.
The Clovers were helped by the foul trouble of the North Putnam bigs, seniors Jameson Brewer and Jake Haste.
"Our bigs played a little tentative because of fouls, so (Cloverdale was) able to get some things that they normally wouldn't have gotten," Martindale said.
Rady said that was all part of the plan.
"When we got certain guys in foul trouble, we were trying to put (Brewer and Haste) in low-post position and force them to have to defend," Rady said. "A lot of times when a guy's got foul trouble he won't defend as well."
Green finished with 11 points and a team-high seven rebounds.
North Putnam hosts Greencastle on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Cloverdale travels to South Putnam on the same date and time.
North Putnam junior Jordan Nauert blocks a slamdunk attempt by Cloverdale junior Zach Dorman in the third quarter on Friday.
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At Cloverdale
North Putnam 16 18 8 17 -- 59
Cloverdale 10 13 19 14 -- 56
Individual scoring
North Putnam (3-10, 1-1 WCC): Brewer 8-17 0-3 16, Green 5-13 0-0 11, Hazelgrove 3-8 2-4 10, Nauert 1-6 3-4 6, Roberts 2-2 1-3 5, Beaman 1-2 1-2 4, Haste 2-6 0-0 4, Flynn 1-1 0-0 2.
Cloverdale (3-11, 0-4): Z Dorman 6-14 5-8 17, Scott 6-11 4-7 17, Collet 5-10 0-0 13 Pfaff 1-3 2-4 4, B Dorman 1-2 0-0 3, Schroer 0-4 0-0 0, Cupp 0-1 0-0 0.
Team scoring (three-pointers)
NP 23-55 (6-13) 7-16 59, CL 19-45 (5-15) 11-19 56.
Rebounds (offensive)
NP 30 (12), CL 30 (10).
Turnovers
NP 10, CL 17.
Clovers fend off pesky Cougars
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Cloverdale senior Amillia Nally drives down the lane to hit a runner over the outstretched arm of North Putnam junior Bethany Wiatt. It was Nally's only field goal, but she assisted on seven others.
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN)
CLOVERDALE -- The North Putnam girls' basketball team has come a long way since the Putnam County Tournament in November, but Cloverdale's changes were more evident on Friday when the Clovers won 46-32.
Cloverdale (7-11, 1-3 WCC) was led by senior point guard Amillia Nally, who assisted on seven of the team's 12 field goals.
"She's stepped up really big in these last three or four games," CHS coach Matthew Langdon said. "She's just really finding what it means to be a true point guard. She's the calming effect on the team. She's starting to learn when to attack and when not to attack.
"And that's great. There's going to be times when there's chances for those assists and there's times to dribble it out and pull it back and set it up."
North Putnam (4-13, 0-3) counted on the rebounding of senior Sam Lucas to keep it in the game. She finished with 11 boards.
Though neither team is dominant in both the perimeter and post, basketball comes down to matchups and the Clovers and Cougars present nightmares for one another.
Cloverdale's strength is in its guard play, where senior Nally, Paige Gruener and Bristy Skiles, along with sophomore Bailee Stevens, cause headaches with their aggressiveness and quickness.
North Putnam's forwards, seniors Lucas, Cayla Kientz and Cassie Aynes and freshman Taylor Nauert, have the size and aggressiveness the Cloverdale struggles with.
"It was physical both ways," NPHS coach Curtis Lawrence said. "Matthew (Langdon)'s kids did an outstanding job against us, just bodying our kids up and not letting us get those easy buckets on the inside."
The Cougars hung tough until halftime, trailing only by five (23-18) but the third quarter is where they've struggled all year.
"They held us for the first (ten) minutes of the second half to one point," Lawrence said. "If you go through a stretch like that, you're not going to win many ball games ... We had talked about, in the locker room (at halftime) coming out and trying to win the third quarter, and that seems to be the quarter we struggle with offensively."
The low-scoring third begat what was, by comparison, an explosive fourth.
Cloverdale's guards penetrated straight to the rim, drawing fouls and won the game at the line.
The Clovers made 10-of-14 from the charity stripe in the fourth, seizing the game.
The host Turkey Run on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. Cloverdale is back in action Friday in a pivotal conference showdown at South Putnam at 6 p.m.
At Cloverdale
North Putnam 8 10 1 13 -- 32
Cloverdale 11 12 5 18 -- 46
Individual scoring
North Putnam (4-13, 0-3): Wiatt 4-6 1-5 9, Asbell 2-14 3-4 8, Smith 1-6 2-2 5, Lucas 2-14 3-4 5, Kientz 1-1 0-1 2, Aynes 1-2 0-0 2, Nauert 0-3 0-0 0, Land 0-0 0-0 0.
Cloverdale (7-11, 1-3): Gruener 5-9 2-2 14, Shrum 3-5 2-2 8, Skiles 2-7 0-0 6, Clark 3-8 0-4 6, Stevens 1-1 3-6 5, Walters 1-1 2-2 4, Nally 1-8 1-2 3.
Team scoring (three-pointers)
NP 11-46 (1-6) 8-15 32, CL 12-40 (4-12) 10-15 46.
Rebounds (offensive)
NP 25 (10), CL 31 (7).
Turnovers
NP 20, CL 15.
Tiger Cub girls take county swim title
Friday, January 25, 2013
Greencastle's senior captains Kaitlynne Mason (center) and Kaelynn Cox celebrate winning the 2013 Putnam County girls' swimming and diving championship by claiming the trophy with head coach Kent Menzel.
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The Greencastle girls' swimming and diving team completed a local tournament sweep on Thursday, winning the 2013 Putnam County meet at South Putnam with 315 points.
The Tiger Cubs won the West Central Conference title a few weeks ago.
At the county meet South Putnam finished second with 196 and North Putnam was third with 95.
GHS had county champions in 10 of the 12 events, including wins in each of the three valuable relays.
Mallary Meyer, Emily Wheeler, Amelia Smith, Corrie Romer, Libby Brush, Amelia Smith, Rosio Gomez, Kaelynn Cox and Rachel Custis each won individual or relay victories.
"Given where we are in our plans for next week, I think they swam very, very well," GHS coach Kent Menzel said. "I was particularly happy with our relays. I thought they were on top of things tonight ... I thought they all meshed really well."
The Tiger Cubs have been relaxing their training in preparation for the start of the postseason next week.
Preliminaries for the sectional meet are Thursday night in Avon, and Menzel said he is hoping the team will be peaking at the right time.
"The girls were working on events that they're going to be swimming next week at the sectional," Menzel said. "They're where we want them to be. As the next seven days unfold, I think we'll sharpen them up quite a bit."
The Eagles had one individual champion, freshman diver Maddison Plunkett, to combine with several strong races.
"She got a little worked up; I don't know that she was happy with her performance," SPHS coach Matt Edwards said. "But I'm happy to see both her and Courtney (Sullivan) come out on top for one and two. They were first and second in both conference and county.
"That's a pretty big accomplishment. They both work very hard. They're in here morning after morning, trying to perfect things."
The Eagles' girls had mixed emotions about the meet, Edwards said, because it is the final regular season meet of the year.
"They know that this is their last 'season' kind of meet," Edwards said. "A lot of them wanted to swim their best times. And they did a heck of a job with that.
"The biggest thing I noticed tonight was just their racing. They put on some really good races. I've got to give credit to North Putnam and Greencastle, because they're good competitors, and our girls know that.
"Tonight was really about beating the girls to the left and to the right of them ... and practicing good racing. They did wonders, and I'm really proud of them."
North Putnam came through with one with individual champion as well. Elizabeth Alford swam an impressive 2:19.27 in the 200-yard freestyle, winning the race by nearly six seconds.
"The standout was Elizabeth Alford," NPHS coach Tony Gray said. "She won the county championship in the 200 and almost pulled it out in the 100. She just didn't quite have a good turn in that last wall, but she's worked really hard this year. I think the best things are in the future for her."
The Cougars have been improving steadily throughout the year and the county meet was a positive conclusion to the regular season, Gray said.
"The girls did a good job," he said. "They had fun tonight, they competed hard. Maybe the times weren't exactly where we wanted, but they just started taper.
"They're smiling so I'm smiling."
With the postseason approaching quickly, each team competing Thursday came into the meet hoping to be ready for next Thursday's sectional 11 preliminary races at Avon.
Greencastle swimmers Mallary Meyer (top) and Rachel Custis fight for the finish line in the 100-yard backstroke event on Thursday. Meyer out-touched Custis to come away with a win and secure the county championship with a time of 1:12.97.
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At South Putnam
2013 Girls' Putnam County Championship
Team score -- Final
1, Greencastle High School, 315. 2, South Putnam High School, 196. 3, North Putnam High School, 95.
Event results
Girls 200 Yard Medley Relay: 1, Greencastle High School 'A' (Meyer, Mallary , Wheeler, Emily , Smith, Amelia , Romer, Corrie ), 2:09.02. 2, South Putnam High School 'A' (Deszi, Morgan , Kiste, Katie , Beasley, Lyndsie , Hansel, Katie ), 2:21.56. 3, Greencastle High School 'B' (Mason, Kaitlynne , Hansen, Beth Ann , Cassida, Sydney , Custis, Rachel ), 2:24.25. 4, North Putnam High School 'A' (Gray, Hannah , Roberts, Lyndsay , Muse, Rebecca , Livesay, Sierra ), 2:32.93. 5, South Putnam High School 'B' (Plunkett, Maddison , Arnold, Megan , Shaw, Katie , Sutkowski, Macy ), 2:36.15.
Girls 200 Yard Freestyle: 1, Alford, Elizabeth, NPHS, 2:19.27. 2, Beasley, Katie Jo, SPHS, 2:25.22. 3, Cox, Kaelynn, GHS, 2:32.82. 4, Moore, Rebecca, GHS, 2:37.80. 5, Deszi, Morgan, SPHS, 2:38.18. 6, Stevens, Kristen, GHS, 2:39.32. 7, Wilson, Ashley, SPHS, 2:46.48. 8, Roberts, Jessica, GHS, 2:53.08. 9, Mason, Kaitlynne, GHS, 2:53.11. 10, Frieje, Samantha, NPHS, 2:53.98. 11, Buchanon, Rorie, NPHS, 3:20.75.
Girls 200 Yard Individual Medley: 1, Brush, Elizabeth, GHS, 2:38.92. 2, Wheeler, Emily, GHS, 2:45.24. 3, Gomez, Rosio, GHS, 2:47.16. 4, Kiste, Katie, SPHS, 3:02.81. 5, Arnold, Megan, SPHS, 3:05.18. 6, Hansen, Beth Ann, GHS, 3:06.64. 7, Muse, Rebecca, NPHS, 3:08.45. 8, Kelley, Tasha, SPHS, 3:30.12.
Girls 50 Yard Freestyle: 1, Smith, Amelia, GHS, 28.12. 2, Romer, Corrie, GHS, 28.13. 3, Custis, Rachel, GHS, 29.35. 4, Hansel, Katie, SPHS, 30.03. 5, Moore, Alexandra, NPHS, 32.55. 6, Kiste, Tori, SPHS, 32.74. 7, Livesay, Sierra, NPHS, 33.17. 8, Brattain, Hannah, GHS, 34.94. 9, Gray, Hannah, NPHS, 36.03. 10, Hettich, Michayla, SPHS, 36.36. 11, Fauvergue, Madi, GHS, 39.93. 12, McDaniel, Erin, NPHS, 41.37.
Girls 1 meter Diving: 1, Plunkett, Maddison, SPHS, 138.75. 2, Sullivan, Courtney, SPHS, 136.15. 3, Cassida, Sydney, GHS, 112.35. 4, Fauvergue, Madi, GHS, 106.65.
Girls 100 Yard Butterfly: 1, Gomez, Rosio, GHS, 1:12.82. 2, Meyer, Mallary, GHS, 1:13.32. 3, Beasley, Lyndsie, SPHS, 1:22.94. 4, Shaw, Katie, SPHS, 1:34.69. 5, Muse, Rebecca, NPHS, 1:35.16. 6, Kelley, Tasha, SPHS, 1:38.21. 7, Roberts, Jessica, GHS, 1:42.97.
Girls 100 Yard Freestyle: 1, Romer, Corrie, GHS, 1:03.28. 2, Smith, Amelia, GHS, 1:03.35. 3, Alford, Elizabeth, NPHS, 1:04.17. 4, Cox, Kaelynn, GHS, 1:04.46. 5, Beasley, Katie Jo, SPHS, 1:05.90. 6, Kiste, Tori, SPHS, 1:12.70. 7, Moore, Alexandra, NPHS, 1:14.71. 8, Sutkowski, Macy, SPHS, 1:15.54. 9, Livesay, Sierra, NPHS, 1:17.89. 10, Roberts, Lyndsay, NPHS, 1:22.59. 11, Anderson, Caitlyn, GHS, 1:24.37. 12, McDaniel, Erin, NPHS, 1:37.24.
Girls 500 Yard Freestyle: 1, Brush, Elizabeth, GHS, 6:29.86. 2, Hansel, Katie, SPHS, 6:50.70. 3, Moore, Rebecca, GHS, 7:00.62. 4, Wilson, Ashley, SPHS, 7:16.07. 5, Stevens, Kristen, GHS, 7:16.93. 6, Frieje, Samantha, NPHS, 7:57.06. 7, Wolf, Autumn, NPHS, 8:00.19. 8, Buchanon, Rorie, NPHS, 9:34.65.
Girls 200 Yard Freestyle Relay: 1, Greencastle High School 'A' (Wheeler, Emily , Cox, Kaelynn , Romer, Corrie , Smith, Amelia ), 1:54.27. 2, South Putnam High School 'A' (Beasley, Katie Jo , Shaw, Katie , Beasley, Lyndsie , Hansel, Katie ), 2:02.82. 3, North Putnam High School 'A' (Alford, Elizabeth , Livesay, Sierra , Moore, Alexandra , Muse, Rebecca ), 2:05.87. 4, Greencastle High School 'B' (Roberts, Jessica , Mason, Kaitlynne , Gomez, Rosio , Moore, Rebecca ), 2:11.03. 5, South Putnam High School 'B' (Kiste, Tori , Arnold, Megan , Kiste, Katie , Sutkowski, Macy ), 2:13.71.
Girls 100 Yard Backstroke: 1, Meyer, Mallary, GHS, 1:12.97. 2, Custis, Rachel, GHS, 1:13.43. 3, Cassida, Sydney, GHS, 1:14.95. 4, Deszi, Morgan, SPHS, 1:18.02. 5, Plunkett, Maddison, SPHS, 1:28.02. 6, Gray, Hannah, NPHS, 1:30.48. 7, Wolf, Autumn, NPHS, 1:31.89.
Girls 100 Yard Breaststroke: 1, Wheeler, Emily, GHS, 1:22.68. 2, Hansen, Beth Ann, GHS, 1:25.47. 3, Brattain, Hannah, GHS, 1:27.87. 4, Kiste, Katie, SPHS, 1:35.30. 5, Roberts, Lyndsay, NPHS, 1:36.68. 6, Anderson, Caitlyn, GHS, 1:39.64. 7, Mason, Kaitlynne, GHS, 1:39.69. 8, Arnold, Megan, SPHS, 1:40.44.
Girls 400 Yard Freestyle Relay: 1, Greencastle High School 'A' (Brush, Elizabeth , Custis, Rachel , Cox, Kaelynn , Gomez, Rosio ), 4:32.88. 2, South Putnam High School 'A' (Beasley, Katie Jo , Shaw, Katie , Kiste, Tori , Beasley, Lyndsie ), 4:42.74. 3, Greencastle High School 'B' (Stevens, Kristen , Moore, Rebecca , Cassida, Sydney , Meyer, Mallary ), 4:42.95. 4, South Putnam High School 'B' (Wilson, Ashley , Kelley, Tasha , Plunkett, Maddison , Sutkowski, Macy ), 5:22.04. 5, North Putnam High School 'A' (Alford, Elizabeth , Moore, Alexandra , Frieje, Samantha , Wolf, Autumn ), 5:25.06.
No. 1 Tigers rely on roles unspoken
Thursday, January 24, 2013
DePauw senior Ellie Pearson does the dirty work inside for the Tigers, but each player knows her role.
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As the top-ranked DePauw University women's basketball team continued it dominant season by totally dismantling Wittenberg on Wednes-day, it became clear that the Tigers are capable of becoming more than a great team, but a legendary one.
DPU is more than just a collection of great players, though it is most certainly that. But it isn't their talent that makes the Tigers special, it's how perfectly constructed they are.
Their individual talents complement one another perfectly. Each player in the rotation has a specific role, tailored perfectly to her skills, and she rarely deviates from it.
"I think we really rely on people accepting roles on this team," DePauw coach Kris Huffman said. "We're looking for people that have that team mentality and selflessness."
As senior Ellie Pearson describes it, the team doesn't talk about roles, it's just a natural progression of how they all play.
"They're kind of unspoken roles," Pearson said. "We don't have any determined roles, but they're kind of known, if that makes sense."
Senior point guard Kate Walker sets the tone for the team -- passing before shooting, looking for open shooters as she attacks the lane -- but she isn't the lone leader.
Pearson is the team's leading rebounder, averaging nearly eight per game (in limited time).
She needs to average a little more than 15 rebounds per game for the rest of the season to set the DePauw career rebounding record, something she is capable of -- were she given the minutes -- but something she won't do because the team is too good for her to play enough.
(None of the starters gets more than 23 minutes per game. The Tigers blow out nearly every opponent. They learn more about execution in practice than they do in games. Echoing the UCLA men's teams of the late 60s, the only team that's physically a match for the DPU starters in the DPU bench.)
Junior Alex Gasaway is the team's leading scorer, utilizing an assortment of DeJuan Blair-like post moves to fight through contact and provide the team it's inside offensive threat.
Junior Ali Ross is the team's defensive stopper. She picks up the opposing point guard full court, hounding her opponent relentlessly.
The fifth starter, sophomore Savannah Trees, is an electric scorer capable of knocking down shots from the outside (she makes better than 50 percent of her threes) or putting the ball on the floor and knocking down a runner in the lane.
"On any given night anyone could go off for 20," Pearson said. "It's just kind of fun sitting in the locker room before the game thinking, 'All right, who is it going to be tonight?' Someone always steps up, but then if you go and look at our team it's very balanced scoring (averages)."
Each of the players is capable of more -- Walker, Ross and even Gasaway are capable of stepping outside and knocking down open threes, "In the flow of the game," Gasaway says; Pearson leads the Tigers in blocks and steals (she had four of each on Wednesday) -- but they never deviate, always staying within themselves.
The roles go beyond the starters.
Junior Alison Stephens would start for any other team in the country. She's and inside-outside scoring threat who is also second on the team in rebounds.
Senior Kat Molloy picks up the defensive pressure when Ross goes to the bench.
It goes on.
Whatever five-woman unit the Tigers have on the court, each player falls into her lane.
The players' willingness to take a step back with her personal numbers to help the team makes the difference between a great team and a legendary one.
It's why Butler made consecutive championship games and why the Los Angeles Lakers -- with four likely Hall of Famers -- are on pace to miss the NBA playoffs.
The players on DePauw's basketball team are very good, maybe even great. The team is phenomenal.
DPU women move to 18-0 by rolling past Wittenberg
Thursday, January 24, 2013
By halftime against Wittenberg, the only thing in question for the DePauw women's basketball team was whether or not it would double-up the score of its opponent. The host Tigers did exactly that, winning 74-37.
"We never go into a game (preparing) like we're better than an opponent. Coach (Huffman) always prepares us the same -- same scouting report, same amount of film, same prep during practice," DPU junior Alex Gasaway said. "But our goal is always to bury them."
Gasaway had a season-high 27 points against Wittenberg despite playing only 18 minutes.
"She had a nice game," Tigers coach Kris Huffman said. "She's coming off having the flu, so it was a good performance. And she wanted the ball, which was nice to see."
DePauw started the game slow, at least by its standards, leading by only two (16-14) with 10:44 left in the first half.
They rolled from there, finishing the half on a 20-4 run to take a 36-18 lead into the break.
Gasaway scored 11 in the first half, then continued where she left off in the second, attacking the basket and getting to the line. She mad 12-of-13 free throws in the game.
"I expect contact when I go in for layups or shots down low, but I don't typically expect for them to call it," Gasaway said. "Sometimes they call it, sometimes they don't. But I expect contact."
The win was DePauw's 43rd straight regular season victory, adding one more to the school-record to start a season. The Tigers are now 18-0.
They'll return to action Saturday when they host Ohio Wesleyan at 1 p.m.
DePauw junior Alex Gasaway pulls in a rebound over Wittenberg on Tuesday. She scored a game- and season-high 27 points.
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At DePauw
Wittenberg 18 19 -- 37
DePauw 36 38 -- 74
Individual scoring
Wittenberg (8-9, 4-4 NCAC): Rice 3-10 1-2 8, Haralamos 2-8 2-2 6, Lara 2-7 1-2 5, Daniel-Hamberg 2-8 1-2 5, Schroeder 2-3 1-2 5, Replogle 2-5 0-0 4, Skidmore 1-5 0-0 2, Miller 1-3 0-0 2.
DePauw (18-0, 9-0): Gasaway 7-11 12-13 27, Trees 5-9 0-0 11, Stephens 3-7 1-1 8, Molloy 2-4 2-2 7, Pearson 2-6 1-5 5, Walker 2-3 0-0 4, Ross 1-4 1-2 3, Ondik 1-2 0-0 3, Abendroth 1-4 0-0 3, Keller 0-1 2-2 2, McDonagh 0-0 1-2 1, Sarkisian 0-1 0-0 0, Stoner 0-0 0-0 0, Skordos 0-2 0-0 0, Hacker 0-1 0-0 0, Lukemeyer 0-2 0-1 0, Francis 0-0 0-0 0.
Team scoring (three-pointers)
Wittenberg 15-49 (1-15) 6-10 37, DePauw 24-57 (6-13) 20-28 74.
Rebounds (offensive)
Wittenberg 30 (9), DePauw 40 (15).
Turnovers
Wittenberg 23, DePauw 11.
Last-second shot helps Warriors knock out NPHS
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Turkey Run junior Jordan Goddard pulls up for her game-winning layup, shooting over North Putnam juniors Bethany Wiatt (5) and Madi Asbell to get the win.
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ROACHDALE -- Big Ten fans know that in a slow-paced, every-possession-matters-more kind of game, every mistake and every success is magnified.
So when Turkey Run junior Jordan Goddard sank a layup from the right block as time expired to give her team a 33-32 win at North Putnam, the Cougars had numerous plays they could point to as a culprit.
North Putnam (4-14, 0-3 WCC) had several success on Tuesday: senior Sam Lucas scored 16 points and grabbed 13 rebounds; junior Bethany Wiatt had seven steals, to go along with her seven points; the squad had only 14 turnovers.
But the positives were balanced out by what the Warriors did well: winning the rebound battle 34-29; slowing the game down to their pace.
Most importantly, though, Turkey Run had the ball last.
"I told the girls at halftime that (Turkey Run) was going to try to slow the game down and keep the tempo down and make it low possession," NPHS coach Curtis Lawrence said. "When we see a short bench (Turkey Run dressed six players), we want to try to pick the tempo up."
As Turkey Run (2-17) slowed the pace of the game down to a crawl, the Cougars couldn't ever seem to inject energy.
The crisp, decisive passing of the Warriors negated the NPHS press, and falling back on defense meant sitting in a zone and waiting Turkey Run to make a mistake.
The Cougars capitalized in spurts, but that meant building a lead up to only five.
As the clock ticked away late in the fourth quarter, the Cougars up one point, it seemed like the Warriors would work it down for the last shot.
Turkey Run had tried to burn the final forty seconds of the third quarter in the Four Corners offense, but it turned the ball over late.
As Wiatt dove on a loose ball, the game tied with 11 seconds left in the fourth, they repeated their mistake.
Wiatt tied the ball up and the possession arrow pointed for North Putnam.
Lucas was fouled on the inbounds and sank one-of-two free throws to take the lead with 3.2 seconds remaining.
After a timeout, the Warriors took the ball out on the sideline near half court.
"It was a poor coaching move on my part at the end," Lawrence said. "I shouldn't have had (senior Cayla Kientz) guarding the ball out of bounds with 3.2. I should have had her back in the middle of the lane. That kind of made everybody help."
Senior Chelsie Wood appeared trapped on the sideline but found Goddard under the basket for a layup.
Goddard finished the game with 14 points (six-of-nine from the field) and seven rebounds.
The Cougars will be back in action Friday when they host Greencastle at 6 p.m. It is also the NPHS homecoming.
At North Putnam
Turkey Run 7 5 10 11 -- 33
North Putnam 8 5 12 7 -- 32
Individual scoring
Turkey Run (2-17): Goddard 6-9 2-3 14, Grayless 3-7 1-3 7, Thompson 1-4 0-0 3, Bowling 1-5 0-0 3, Wood 0-9 3-5 3, Basan 1-2 0-0 3.
North Putnam (4-14, 0-3): Lucas 5-11 6-8 16, Wiatt 3-6 1-2 7, Smith 3-10 0-2 6, Asbell 1-7 0-2 2, Kientz 0-1 1-2 1, Nauert 0-2 0-0 0, Aynes 0-3 0-0 0, Land 0-0 0-0 0.
Team scoring (three-pointers)
TR 12-37 (3-12) 6-12 33, NP 12-39 (0-0) 8-16 32.
Rebounds (offensive)
TR 34 (12), NP 29 (11).
Turnovers
TR 20, NP 14.
South Putnam has frustrating second half in loss to Bruins
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
South Putnam junior Sawyer Arnold plants and swings a crossover dribble around the Bruins on Saturday.
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LIZTON -- The South Putnam boys' basketball team was eliminated from contention for a West Central Conference championship on Friday, but it came back Saturday playing hard at Tri-West.
The teams were tight at the half but the Eagles' collective frustration seemed to get the best of them at the break as they lost 67-44.
"We haven't come out in the third quarter this year," SPHS coach Troy Burgess said. "(Friday) night against Monrovia. (It was a) one-point game after two, then a 14-point game after three. We've got to figure something out in that third quarter."
The Eagles (5-7, 1-2 WCC) trailed by only seven at the break (28-21), despite a perfect first half from the field by Bruins junior Austin Lynn (6-6, 14 points).
Instead of building, SPHS came out sloppy. The players committed nine fouls and 10 turnovers in the third quarter, then lost their defensive intensity in the fourth.
"We're not coming out with the same intensity in the third quarter that we play the first and second, and then we dig ourselves a hole," Burgess said. "I don't know. I made a joke last night about it. Maybe I don't go in and talk to them. Maybe I pour them some orange juice and let them sit."
Tri-West (6-6) made 13-of-14 free throws in the final period, and six-of-seven two-point shots, en route to a 24-point quarter.
Sophomore Trevor Waite made eight-of-eight from the line in the final quarter to help secure the win.
Waite and Lynn each finished with game-highs of 22 points.
Junior Sawyer Arnold led the Eagles with 15 points. Junior Trey Moore had nine points and eight rebounds, and senior Justin Bumgardner had three and nine.
"(Tri-West) is a good basketball team," Burgess said. "Against good teams like this, you can't dig yourself a hole."
The Eagles will host Cloverdale on Friday at 7:30 p.m. It will be South Putnam High School's homecoming.
At Tri-West
South Putnam 11 10 9 14 -- 44
Tri-West 14 14 15 24 -- 67
Individual scoring
SP: Arnold 5-13 3-3 15, Moore 2-5 6-9 10, R Chestnut 2-4 2-2 6, Vittetow 2-7 0-1 6, Pell 1-4 1-2 4, Bumgardner 1-6 1-4 3, Mitchell 0-3 0-0 0, Long 0-1 0-1 0, Franklin 0-1 0-0 0, D Chestnut 0-1 0-0 0, Snow 0-0 0-0 0.
TW: Lynn 9-11 3-5 22, Waite 6-12 10-11 22, Alexander 3-8 4-4 10, Burks 4-4 0-2 8, Hendershot 1-5 1-4 3, Phelps 1-3 0-0 2, Koelling 0-5 0-0 0, Musial 0-1 0-0 0, Stamm 0-2 0-0 0, Gadberry 0-0 0-0 0, Miller 0-0 0-0 0, Vervynckt 0-0 0-0 0.
Team scoring (three-pointers)
SP 13-45 (5-14) 13-22 44, TW 24-51 (1-15) 19-28 67.
Rebounds (offensive)
SP 41 (20), TW 19(7).
Turnovers
SP 27, TW 10.
Green stands ground in NP win over Cloverdale
Saturday, January 19, 2013
North Putnam senior Zach Green stands in the lane and braces for contact by Cloverdale junior Zach Dorman. Dorman was called for a charge that helped seal an NPHS win.
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CLOVERDALE -- As the North Putnam and Cloverdale boys' basketball teams traded baskets throughout the fourth quarter and the clock began ticking down, it was apparent that one big play would decide the game.
North Putnam senior Zach Green made that play and helped the Cougars win, 59-56.
As junior Zach Dorman slashed through the lane, down two points with 31 seconds to go, it looked like it would be his day.
Dorman's eyes widened at the sight of the rim, but he failed to see Green sliding in front of him, planting his feet and standing firm.
As Dorman's layup rattled out, a pile of Zachs clogged the floor of the lane. The official's whistle sounded as he signaled a charge.
"Zach (Green) was tremendous," NPHS coach Nathan Martindale said. "That's the best game I've seen him play. Ever. He came in, he was under control, he scored some, he was quicker than some of the (Cloverdale) guards and he was able to get into the paint and get some layups for us.
"Then he had that huge charge in the fourth quarter. That was a make-or-break situation and we got the call."
Green's play led to a shooting foul at the other end. Junior Shane Beaman made one of two, extending the lead to three.
Sophomore Brantson Scott, who tied with Dorman as the game's high-scorer with 17, answered with a layup with 10 seconds left.
The subsequent inbounds pass missed its intended target, but Brody Pfaff was called for a foul as he and NPHS junior Jordan Nauert dove after the ball.
Nauert sank the pair, putting NPHS up three with six seconds left.
"He can do whatever he wants," Martindale said. "He's the type of kid that can shoot it when he needs to. He can pass it when he needs it. We even had him on the big kid (Dorman) tonight ... He's a very versatile player for us. We can put him in many different positions. I don't know too many guys that can defend the post and go out and play point guard on the way down.
"It was a total team-effort. All eight guys played great minutes for us."
The Clovers had been in similar situations before. They entered the game 3-2 in one-possession games including a buzzer-beating shot to beat Clay City last Saturday.
Unlike the other situations, when the players were taught to drive to the basket, Cloverdale trailed NPHS by three.
CHS coach Pat Rady called for a timeout.
"We wanted to get a three-point shot," Rady said. "We had two people lined up and they covered the other one (Collet) pretty well, so we went for the three-point shot (with Scott)."
Scott's attempt rattled out and Beaman hauled in the rebound to run out the clock.
The game hadn't always been close.
Cloverdale trailed 34-23 at the break, then proceeded to go on a 19-4 run to start the third quarter. Scott and junior Kedrick Collet (seven points in the quarter) sparked the rally that had the two teams enter the fourth quarter tied at 42.
The Clovers were helped by the foul trouble of the North Putnam bigs, seniors Jameson Brewer and Jake Haste.
"Our bigs played a little tentative because of fouls, so (Cloverdale was) able to get some things that they normally wouldn't have gotten," Martindale said.
Rady said that was all part of the plan.
"When we got certain guys in foul trouble, we were trying to put (Brewer and Haste) in low-post position and force them to have to defend," Rady said. "A lot of times when a guy's got foul trouble he won't defend as well."
Green finished with 11 points and a team-high seven rebounds.
North Putnam hosts Greencastle on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Cloverdale travels to South Putnam on the same date and time.
North Putnam junior Jordan Nauert blocks a slamdunk attempt by Cloverdale junior Zach Dorman in the third quarter on Friday.
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At Cloverdale
North Putnam 16 18 8 17 -- 59
Cloverdale 10 13 19 14 -- 56
Individual scoring
North Putnam (3-10, 1-1 WCC): Brewer 8-17 0-3 16, Green 5-13 0-0 11, Hazelgrove 3-8 2-4 10, Nauert 1-6 3-4 6, Roberts 2-2 1-3 5, Beaman 1-2 1-2 4, Haste 2-6 0-0 4, Flynn 1-1 0-0 2.
Cloverdale (3-11, 0-4): Z Dorman 6-14 5-8 17, Scott 6-11 4-7 17, Collet 5-10 0-0 13 Pfaff 1-3 2-4 4, B Dorman 1-2 0-0 3, Schroer 0-4 0-0 0, Cupp 0-1 0-0 0.
Team scoring (three-pointers)
NP 23-55 (6-13) 7-16 59, CL 19-45 (5-15) 11-19 56.
Rebounds (offensive)
NP 30 (12), CL 30 (10).
Turnovers
NP 10, CL 17.
Tiger Cub girls take county swim title
Friday, January 25, 2013
Greencastle's senior captains Kaitlynne Mason (center) and Kaelynn Cox celebrate winning the 2013 Putnam County girls' swimming and diving championship by claiming the trophy with head coach Kent Menzel.
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The Greencastle girls' swimming and diving team completed a local tournament sweep on Thursday, winning the 2013 Putnam County meet at South Putnam with 315 points.
The Tiger Cubs won the West Central Conference title a few weeks ago.
At the county meet South Putnam finished second with 196 and North Putnam was third with 95.
GHS had county champions in 10 of the 12 events, including wins in each of the three valuable relays.
Mallary Meyer, Emily Wheeler, Amelia Smith, Corrie Romer, Libby Brush, Amelia Smith, Rosio Gomez, Kaelynn Cox and Rachel Custis each won individual or relay victories.
"Given where we are in our plans for next week, I think they swam very, very well," GHS coach Kent Menzel said. "I was particularly happy with our relays. I thought they were on top of things tonight ... I thought they all meshed really well."
The Tiger Cubs have been relaxing their training in preparation for the start of the postseason next week.
Preliminaries for the sectional meet are Thursday night in Avon, and Menzel said he is hoping the team will be peaking at the right time.
"The girls were working on events that they're going to be swimming next week at the sectional," Menzel said. "They're where we want them to be. As the next seven days unfold, I think we'll sharpen them up quite a bit."
The Eagles had one individual champion, freshman diver Maddison Plunkett, to combine with several strong races.
"She got a little worked up; I don't know that she was happy with her performance," SPHS coach Matt Edwards said. "But I'm happy to see both her and Courtney (Sullivan) come out on top for one and two. They were first and second in both conference and county.
"That's a pretty big accomplishment. They both work very hard. They're in here morning after morning, trying to perfect things."
The Eagles' girls had mixed emotions about the meet, Edwards said, because it is the final regular season meet of the year.
"They know that this is their last 'season' kind of meet," Edwards said. "A lot of them wanted to swim their best times. And they did a heck of a job with that.
"The biggest thing I noticed tonight was just their racing. They put on some really good races. I've got to give credit to North Putnam and Greencastle, because they're good competitors, and our girls know that.
"Tonight was really about beating the girls to the left and to the right of them ... and practicing good racing. They did wonders, and I'm really proud of them."
North Putnam came through with one with individual champion as well. Elizabeth Alford swam an impressive 2:19.27 in the 200-yard freestyle, winning the race by nearly six seconds.
"The standout was Elizabeth Alford," NPHS coach Tony Gray said. "She won the county championship in the 200 and almost pulled it out in the 100. She just didn't quite have a good turn in that last wall, but she's worked really hard this year. I think the best things are in the future for her."
The Cougars have been improving steadily throughout the year and the county meet was a positive conclusion to the regular season, Gray said.
"The girls did a good job," he said. "They had fun tonight, they competed hard. Maybe the times weren't exactly where we wanted, but they just started taper.
"They're smiling so I'm smiling."
With the postseason approaching quickly, each team competing Thursday came into the meet hoping to be ready for next Thursday's sectional 11 preliminary races at Avon.
Greencastle swimmers Mallary Meyer (top) and Rachel Custis fight for the finish line in the 100-yard backstroke event on Thursday. Meyer out-touched Custis to come away with a win and secure the county championship with a time of 1:12.97.
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At South Putnam
2013 Girls' Putnam County Championship
Team score -- Final
1, Greencastle High School, 315. 2, South Putnam High School, 196. 3, North Putnam High School, 95.
Event results
Girls 200 Yard Medley Relay: 1, Greencastle High School 'A' (Meyer, Mallary , Wheeler, Emily , Smith, Amelia , Romer, Corrie ), 2:09.02. 2, South Putnam High School 'A' (Deszi, Morgan , Kiste, Katie , Beasley, Lyndsie , Hansel, Katie ), 2:21.56. 3, Greencastle High School 'B' (Mason, Kaitlynne , Hansen, Beth Ann , Cassida, Sydney , Custis, Rachel ), 2:24.25. 4, North Putnam High School 'A' (Gray, Hannah , Roberts, Lyndsay , Muse, Rebecca , Livesay, Sierra ), 2:32.93. 5, South Putnam High School 'B' (Plunkett, Maddison , Arnold, Megan , Shaw, Katie , Sutkowski, Macy ), 2:36.15.
Girls 200 Yard Freestyle: 1, Alford, Elizabeth, NPHS, 2:19.27. 2, Beasley, Katie Jo, SPHS, 2:25.22. 3, Cox, Kaelynn, GHS, 2:32.82. 4, Moore, Rebecca, GHS, 2:37.80. 5, Deszi, Morgan, SPHS, 2:38.18. 6, Stevens, Kristen, GHS, 2:39.32. 7, Wilson, Ashley, SPHS, 2:46.48. 8, Roberts, Jessica, GHS, 2:53.08. 9, Mason, Kaitlynne, GHS, 2:53.11. 10, Frieje, Samantha, NPHS, 2:53.98. 11, Buchanon, Rorie, NPHS, 3:20.75.
Girls 200 Yard Individual Medley: 1, Brush, Elizabeth, GHS, 2:38.92. 2, Wheeler, Emily, GHS, 2:45.24. 3, Gomez, Rosio, GHS, 2:47.16. 4, Kiste, Katie, SPHS, 3:02.81. 5, Arnold, Megan, SPHS, 3:05.18. 6, Hansen, Beth Ann, GHS, 3:06.64. 7, Muse, Rebecca, NPHS, 3:08.45. 8, Kelley, Tasha, SPHS, 3:30.12.
Girls 50 Yard Freestyle: 1, Smith, Amelia, GHS, 28.12. 2, Romer, Corrie, GHS, 28.13. 3, Custis, Rachel, GHS, 29.35. 4, Hansel, Katie, SPHS, 30.03. 5, Moore, Alexandra, NPHS, 32.55. 6, Kiste, Tori, SPHS, 32.74. 7, Livesay, Sierra, NPHS, 33.17. 8, Brattain, Hannah, GHS, 34.94. 9, Gray, Hannah, NPHS, 36.03. 10, Hettich, Michayla, SPHS, 36.36. 11, Fauvergue, Madi, GHS, 39.93. 12, McDaniel, Erin, NPHS, 41.37.
Girls 1 meter Diving: 1, Plunkett, Maddison, SPHS, 138.75. 2, Sullivan, Courtney, SPHS, 136.15. 3, Cassida, Sydney, GHS, 112.35. 4, Fauvergue, Madi, GHS, 106.65.
Girls 100 Yard Butterfly: 1, Gomez, Rosio, GHS, 1:12.82. 2, Meyer, Mallary, GHS, 1:13.32. 3, Beasley, Lyndsie, SPHS, 1:22.94. 4, Shaw, Katie, SPHS, 1:34.69. 5, Muse, Rebecca, NPHS, 1:35.16. 6, Kelley, Tasha, SPHS, 1:38.21. 7, Roberts, Jessica, GHS, 1:42.97.
Girls 100 Yard Freestyle: 1, Romer, Corrie, GHS, 1:03.28. 2, Smith, Amelia, GHS, 1:03.35. 3, Alford, Elizabeth, NPHS, 1:04.17. 4, Cox, Kaelynn, GHS, 1:04.46. 5, Beasley, Katie Jo, SPHS, 1:05.90. 6, Kiste, Tori, SPHS, 1:12.70. 7, Moore, Alexandra, NPHS, 1:14.71. 8, Sutkowski, Macy, SPHS, 1:15.54. 9, Livesay, Sierra, NPHS, 1:17.89. 10, Roberts, Lyndsay, NPHS, 1:22.59. 11, Anderson, Caitlyn, GHS, 1:24.37. 12, McDaniel, Erin, NPHS, 1:37.24.
Girls 500 Yard Freestyle: 1, Brush, Elizabeth, GHS, 6:29.86. 2, Hansel, Katie, SPHS, 6:50.70. 3, Moore, Rebecca, GHS, 7:00.62. 4, Wilson, Ashley, SPHS, 7:16.07. 5, Stevens, Kristen, GHS, 7:16.93. 6, Frieje, Samantha, NPHS, 7:57.06. 7, Wolf, Autumn, NPHS, 8:00.19. 8, Buchanon, Rorie, NPHS, 9:34.65.
Girls 200 Yard Freestyle Relay: 1, Greencastle High School 'A' (Wheeler, Emily , Cox, Kaelynn , Romer, Corrie , Smith, Amelia ), 1:54.27. 2, South Putnam High School 'A' (Beasley, Katie Jo , Shaw, Katie , Beasley, Lyndsie , Hansel, Katie ), 2:02.82. 3, North Putnam High School 'A' (Alford, Elizabeth , Livesay, Sierra , Moore, Alexandra , Muse, Rebecca ), 2:05.87. 4, Greencastle High School 'B' (Roberts, Jessica , Mason, Kaitlynne , Gomez, Rosio , Moore, Rebecca ), 2:11.03. 5, South Putnam High School 'B' (Kiste, Tori , Arnold, Megan , Kiste, Katie , Sutkowski, Macy ), 2:13.71.
Girls 100 Yard Backstroke: 1, Meyer, Mallary, GHS, 1:12.97. 2, Custis, Rachel, GHS, 1:13.43. 3, Cassida, Sydney, GHS, 1:14.95. 4, Deszi, Morgan, SPHS, 1:18.02. 5, Plunkett, Maddison, SPHS, 1:28.02. 6, Gray, Hannah, NPHS, 1:30.48. 7, Wolf, Autumn, NPHS, 1:31.89.
Girls 100 Yard Breaststroke: 1, Wheeler, Emily, GHS, 1:22.68. 2, Hansen, Beth Ann, GHS, 1:25.47. 3, Brattain, Hannah, GHS, 1:27.87. 4, Kiste, Katie, SPHS, 1:35.30. 5, Roberts, Lyndsay, NPHS, 1:36.68. 6, Anderson, Caitlyn, GHS, 1:39.64. 7, Mason, Kaitlynne, GHS, 1:39.69. 8, Arnold, Megan, SPHS, 1:40.44.
Girls 400 Yard Freestyle Relay: 1, Greencastle High School 'A' (Brush, Elizabeth , Custis, Rachel , Cox, Kaelynn , Gomez, Rosio ), 4:32.88. 2, South Putnam High School 'A' (Beasley, Katie Jo , Shaw, Katie , Kiste, Tori , Beasley, Lyndsie ), 4:42.74. 3, Greencastle High School 'B' (Stevens, Kristen , Moore, Rebecca , Cassida, Sydney , Meyer, Mallary ), 4:42.95. 4, South Putnam High School 'B' (Wilson, Ashley , Kelley, Tasha , Plunkett, Maddison , Sutkowski, Macy ), 5:22.04. 5, North Putnam High School 'A' (Alford, Elizabeth , Moore, Alexandra , Frieje, Samantha , Wolf, Autumn ), 5:25.06.
No. 1 Tigers rely on roles unspoken
Thursday, January 24, 2013
DePauw senior Ellie Pearson does the dirty work inside for the Tigers, but each player knows her role.
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As the top-ranked DePauw University women's basketball team continued it dominant season by totally dismantling Wittenberg on Wednes-day, it became clear that the Tigers are capable of becoming more than a great team, but a legendary one.
DPU is more than just a collection of great players, though it is most certainly that. But it isn't their talent that makes the Tigers special, it's how perfectly constructed they are.
Their individual talents complement one another perfectly. Each player in the rotation has a specific role, tailored perfectly to her skills, and she rarely deviates from it.
"I think we really rely on people accepting roles on this team," DePauw coach Kris Huffman said. "We're looking for people that have that team mentality and selflessness."
As senior Ellie Pearson describes it, the team doesn't talk about roles, it's just a natural progression of how they all play.
"They're kind of unspoken roles," Pearson said. "We don't have any determined roles, but they're kind of known, if that makes sense."
Senior point guard Kate Walker sets the tone for the team -- passing before shooting, looking for open shooters as she attacks the lane -- but she isn't the lone leader.
Pearson is the team's leading rebounder, averaging nearly eight per game (in limited time).
She needs to average a little more than 15 rebounds per game for the rest of the season to set the DePauw career rebounding record, something she is capable of -- were she given the minutes -- but something she won't do because the team is too good for her to play enough.
(None of the starters gets more than 23 minutes per game. The Tigers blow out nearly every opponent. They learn more about execution in practice than they do in games. Echoing the UCLA men's teams of the late 60s, the only team that's physically a match for the DPU starters in the DPU bench.)
Junior Alex Gasaway is the team's leading scorer, utilizing an assortment of DeJuan Blair-like post moves to fight through contact and provide the team it's inside offensive threat.
Junior Ali Ross is the team's defensive stopper. She picks up the opposing point guard full court, hounding her opponent relentlessly.
The fifth starter, sophomore Savannah Trees, is an electric scorer capable of knocking down shots from the outside (she makes better than 50 percent of her threes) or putting the ball on the floor and knocking down a runner in the lane.
"On any given night anyone could go off for 20," Pearson said. "It's just kind of fun sitting in the locker room before the game thinking, 'All right, who is it going to be tonight?' Someone always steps up, but then if you go and look at our team it's very balanced scoring (averages)."
Each of the players is capable of more -- Walker, Ross and even Gasaway are capable of stepping outside and knocking down open threes, "In the flow of the game," Gasaway says; Pearson leads the Tigers in blocks and steals (she had four of each on Wednesday) -- but they never deviate, always staying within themselves.
The roles go beyond the starters.
Junior Alison Stephens would start for any other team in the country. She's and inside-outside scoring threat who is also second on the team in rebounds.
Senior Kat Molloy picks up the defensive pressure when Ross goes to the bench.
It goes on.
Whatever five-woman unit the Tigers have on the court, each player falls into her lane.
The players' willingness to take a step back with her personal numbers to help the team makes the difference between a great team and a legendary one.
It's why Butler made consecutive championship games and why the Los Angeles Lakers -- with four likely Hall of Famers -- are on pace to miss the NBA playoffs.
The players on DePauw's basketball team are very good, maybe even great. The team is phenomenal.
DPU women move to 18-0 by rolling past Wittenberg
Thursday, January 24, 2013
By halftime against Wittenberg, the only thing in question for the DePauw women's basketball team was whether or not it would double-up the score of its opponent. The host Tigers did exactly that, winning 74-37.
"We never go into a game (preparing) like we're better than an opponent. Coach (Huffman) always prepares us the same -- same scouting report, same amount of film, same prep during practice," DPU junior Alex Gasaway said. "But our goal is always to bury them."
Gasaway had a season-high 27 points against Wittenberg despite playing only 18 minutes.
"She had a nice game," Tigers coach Kris Huffman said. "She's coming off having the flu, so it was a good performance. And she wanted the ball, which was nice to see."
DePauw started the game slow, at least by its standards, leading by only two (16-14) with 10:44 left in the first half.
They rolled from there, finishing the half on a 20-4 run to take a 36-18 lead into the break.
Gasaway scored 11 in the first half, then continued where she left off in the second, attacking the basket and getting to the line. She mad 12-of-13 free throws in the game.
"I expect contact when I go in for layups or shots down low, but I don't typically expect for them to call it," Gasaway said. "Sometimes they call it, sometimes they don't. But I expect contact."
The win was DePauw's 43rd straight regular season victory, adding one more to the school-record to start a season. The Tigers are now 18-0.
They'll return to action Saturday when they host Ohio Wesleyan at 1 p.m.
DePauw junior Alex Gasaway pulls in a rebound over Wittenberg on Tuesday. She scored a game- and season-high 27 points.
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At DePauw
Wittenberg 18 19 -- 37
DePauw 36 38 -- 74
Individual scoring
Wittenberg (8-9, 4-4 NCAC): Rice 3-10 1-2 8, Haralamos 2-8 2-2 6, Lara 2-7 1-2 5, Daniel-Hamberg 2-8 1-2 5, Schroeder 2-3 1-2 5, Replogle 2-5 0-0 4, Skidmore 1-5 0-0 2, Miller 1-3 0-0 2.
DePauw (18-0, 9-0): Gasaway 7-11 12-13 27, Trees 5-9 0-0 11, Stephens 3-7 1-1 8, Molloy 2-4 2-2 7, Pearson 2-6 1-5 5, Walker 2-3 0-0 4, Ross 1-4 1-2 3, Ondik 1-2 0-0 3, Abendroth 1-4 0-0 3, Keller 0-1 2-2 2, McDonagh 0-0 1-2 1, Sarkisian 0-1 0-0 0, Stoner 0-0 0-0 0, Skordos 0-2 0-0 0, Hacker 0-1 0-0 0, Lukemeyer 0-2 0-1 0, Francis 0-0 0-0 0.
Team scoring (three-pointers)
Wittenberg 15-49 (1-15) 6-10 37, DePauw 24-57 (6-13) 20-28 74.
Rebounds (offensive)
Wittenberg 30 (9), DePauw 40 (15).
Turnovers
Wittenberg 23, DePauw 11.
Last-second shot helps Warriors knock out NPHS
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Turkey Run junior Jordan Goddard pulls up for her game-winning layup, shooting over North Putnam juniors Bethany Wiatt (5) and Madi Asbell to get the win.
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ROACHDALE -- Big Ten fans know that in a slow-paced, every-possession-matters-more kind of game, every mistake and every success is magnified.
So when Turkey Run junior Jordan Goddard sank a layup from the right block as time expired to give her team a 33-32 win at North Putnam, the Cougars had numerous plays they could point to as a culprit.
North Putnam (4-14, 0-3 WCC) had several success on Tuesday: senior Sam Lucas scored 16 points and grabbed 13 rebounds; junior Bethany Wiatt had seven steals, to go along with her seven points; the squad had only 14 turnovers.
But the positives were balanced out by what the Warriors did well: winning the rebound battle 34-29; slowing the game down to their pace.
Most importantly, though, Turkey Run had the ball last.
"I told the girls at halftime that (Turkey Run) was going to try to slow the game down and keep the tempo down and make it low possession," NPHS coach Curtis Lawrence said. "When we see a short bench (Turkey Run dressed six players), we want to try to pick the tempo up."
As Turkey Run (2-17) slowed the pace of the game down to a crawl, the Cougars couldn't ever seem to inject energy.
The crisp, decisive passing of the Warriors negated the NPHS press, and falling back on defense meant sitting in a zone and waiting Turkey Run to make a mistake.
The Cougars capitalized in spurts, but that meant building a lead up to only five.
As the clock ticked away late in the fourth quarter, the Cougars up one point, it seemed like the Warriors would work it down for the last shot.
Turkey Run had tried to burn the final forty seconds of the third quarter in the Four Corners offense, but it turned the ball over late.
As Wiatt dove on a loose ball, the game tied with 11 seconds left in the fourth, they repeated their mistake.
Wiatt tied the ball up and the possession arrow pointed for North Putnam.
Lucas was fouled on the inbounds and sank one-of-two free throws to take the lead with 3.2 seconds remaining.
After a timeout, the Warriors took the ball out on the sideline near half court.
"It was a poor coaching move on my part at the end," Lawrence said. "I shouldn't have had (senior Cayla Kientz) guarding the ball out of bounds with 3.2. I should have had her back in the middle of the lane. That kind of made everybody help."
Senior Chelsie Wood appeared trapped on the sideline but found Goddard under the basket for a layup.
Goddard finished the game with 14 points (six-of-nine from the field) and seven rebounds.
The Cougars will be back in action Friday when they host Greencastle at 6 p.m. It is also the NPHS homecoming.
At North Putnam
Turkey Run 7 5 10 11 -- 33
North Putnam 8 5 12 7 -- 32
Individual scoring
Turkey Run (2-17): Goddard 6-9 2-3 14, Grayless 3-7 1-3 7, Thompson 1-4 0-0 3, Bowling 1-5 0-0 3, Wood 0-9 3-5 3, Basan 1-2 0-0 3.
North Putnam (4-14, 0-3): Lucas 5-11 6-8 16, Wiatt 3-6 1-2 7, Smith 3-10 0-2 6, Asbell 1-7 0-2 2, Kientz 0-1 1-2 1, Nauert 0-2 0-0 0, Aynes 0-3 0-0 0, Land 0-0 0-0 0.
Team scoring (three-pointers)
TR 12-37 (3-12) 6-12 33, NP 12-39 (0-0) 8-16 32.
Rebounds (offensive)
TR 34 (12), NP 29 (11).
Turnovers
TR 20, NP 14.
South Putnam has frustrating second half in loss to Bruins
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
South Putnam junior Sawyer Arnold plants and swings a crossover dribble around the Bruins on Saturday.
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LIZTON -- The South Putnam boys' basketball team was eliminated from contention for a West Central Conference championship on Friday, but it came back Saturday playing hard at Tri-West.
The teams were tight at the half but the Eagles' collective frustration seemed to get the best of them at the break as they lost 67-44.
"We haven't come out in the third quarter this year," SPHS coach Troy Burgess said. "(Friday) night against Monrovia. (It was a) one-point game after two, then a 14-point game after three. We've got to figure something out in that third quarter."
The Eagles (5-7, 1-2 WCC) trailed by only seven at the break (28-21), despite a perfect first half from the field by Bruins junior Austin Lynn (6-6, 14 points).
Instead of building, SPHS came out sloppy. The players committed nine fouls and 10 turnovers in the third quarter, then lost their defensive intensity in the fourth.
"We're not coming out with the same intensity in the third quarter that we play the first and second, and then we dig ourselves a hole," Burgess said. "I don't know. I made a joke last night about it. Maybe I don't go in and talk to them. Maybe I pour them some orange juice and let them sit."
Tri-West (6-6) made 13-of-14 free throws in the final period, and six-of-seven two-point shots, en route to a 24-point quarter.
Sophomore Trevor Waite made eight-of-eight from the line in the final quarter to help secure the win.
Waite and Lynn each finished with game-highs of 22 points.
Junior Sawyer Arnold led the Eagles with 15 points. Junior Trey Moore had nine points and eight rebounds, and senior Justin Bumgardner had three and nine.
"(Tri-West) is a good basketball team," Burgess said. "Against good teams like this, you can't dig yourself a hole."
The Eagles will host Cloverdale on Friday at 7:30 p.m. It will be South Putnam High School's homecoming.
At Tri-West
South Putnam 11 10 9 14 -- 44
Tri-West 14 14 15 24 -- 67
Individual scoring
SP: Arnold 5-13 3-3 15, Moore 2-5 6-9 10, R Chestnut 2-4 2-2 6, Vittetow 2-7 0-1 6, Pell 1-4 1-2 4, Bumgardner 1-6 1-4 3, Mitchell 0-3 0-0 0, Long 0-1 0-1 0, Franklin 0-1 0-0 0, D Chestnut 0-1 0-0 0, Snow 0-0 0-0 0.
TW: Lynn 9-11 3-5 22, Waite 6-12 10-11 22, Alexander 3-8 4-4 10, Burks 4-4 0-2 8, Hendershot 1-5 1-4 3, Phelps 1-3 0-0 2, Koelling 0-5 0-0 0, Musial 0-1 0-0 0, Stamm 0-2 0-0 0, Gadberry 0-0 0-0 0, Miller 0-0 0-0 0, Vervynckt 0-0 0-0 0.
Team scoring (three-pointers)
SP 13-45 (5-14) 13-22 44, TW 24-51 (1-15) 19-28 67.
Rebounds (offensive)
SP 41 (20), TW 19(7).
Turnovers
SP 27, TW 10.
Tiger Cub girls take county swim title
Friday, January 25, 2013
Greencastle's senior captains Kaitlynne Mason (center) and Kaelynn Cox celebrate winning the 2013 Putnam County girls' swimming and diving championship by claiming the trophy with head coach Kent Menzel.
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The Greencastle girls' swimming and diving team completed a local tournament sweep on Thursday, winning the 2013 Putnam County meet at South Putnam with 315 points.
The Tiger Cubs won the West Central Conference title a few weeks ago.
At the county meet South Putnam finished second with 196 and North Putnam was third with 95.
GHS had county champions in 10 of the 12 events, including wins in each of the three valuable relays.
Mallary Meyer, Emily Wheeler, Amelia Smith, Corrie Romer, Libby Brush, Amelia Smith, Rosio Gomez, Kaelynn Cox and Rachel Custis each won individual or relay victories.
"Given where we are in our plans for next week, I think they swam very, very well," GHS coach Kent Menzel said. "I was particularly happy with our relays. I thought they were on top of things tonight ... I thought they all meshed really well."
The Tiger Cubs have been relaxing their training in preparation for the start of the postseason next week.
Preliminaries for the sectional meet are Thursday night in Avon, and Menzel said he is hoping the team will be peaking at the right time.
"The girls were working on events that they're going to be swimming next week at the sectional," Menzel said. "They're where we want them to be. As the next seven days unfold, I think we'll sharpen them up quite a bit."
The Eagles had one individual champion, freshman diver Maddison Plunkett, to combine with several strong races.
"She got a little worked up; I don't know that she was happy with her performance," SPHS coach Matt Edwards said. "But I'm happy to see both her and Courtney (Sullivan) come out on top for one and two. They were first and second in both conference and county.
"That's a pretty big accomplishment. They both work very hard. They're in here morning after morning, trying to perfect things."
The Eagles' girls had mixed emotions about the meet, Edwards said, because it is the final regular season meet of the year.
"They know that this is their last 'season' kind of meet," Edwards said. "A lot of them wanted to swim their best times. And they did a heck of a job with that.
"The biggest thing I noticed tonight was just their racing. They put on some really good races. I've got to give credit to North Putnam and Greencastle, because they're good competitors, and our girls know that.
"Tonight was really about beating the girls to the left and to the right of them ... and practicing good racing. They did wonders, and I'm really proud of them."
North Putnam came through with one with individual champion as well. Elizabeth Alford swam an impressive 2:19.27 in the 200-yard freestyle, winning the race by nearly six seconds.
"The standout was Elizabeth Alford," NPHS coach Tony Gray said. "She won the county championship in the 200 and almost pulled it out in the 100. She just didn't quite have a good turn in that last wall, but she's worked really hard this year. I think the best things are in the future for her."
The Cougars have been improving steadily throughout the year and the county meet was a positive conclusion to the regular season, Gray said.
"The girls did a good job," he said. "They had fun tonight, they competed hard. Maybe the times weren't exactly where we wanted, but they just started taper.
"They're smiling so I'm smiling."
With the postseason approaching quickly, each team competing Thursday came into the meet hoping to be ready for next Thursday's sectional 11 preliminary races at Avon.
Greencastle swimmers Mallary Meyer (top) and Rachel Custis fight for the finish line in the 100-yard backstroke event on Thursday. Meyer out-touched Custis to come away with a win and secure the county championship with a time of 1:12.97.
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At South Putnam
2013 Girls' Putnam County Championship
Team score -- Final
1, Greencastle High School, 315. 2, South Putnam High School, 196. 3, North Putnam High School, 95.
Event results
Girls 200 Yard Medley Relay: 1, Greencastle High School 'A' (Meyer, Mallary , Wheeler, Emily , Smith, Amelia , Romer, Corrie ), 2:09.02. 2, South Putnam High School 'A' (Deszi, Morgan , Kiste, Katie , Beasley, Lyndsie , Hansel, Katie ), 2:21.56. 3, Greencastle High School 'B' (Mason, Kaitlynne , Hansen, Beth Ann , Cassida, Sydney , Custis, Rachel ), 2:24.25. 4, North Putnam High School 'A' (Gray, Hannah , Roberts, Lyndsay , Muse, Rebecca , Livesay, Sierra ), 2:32.93. 5, South Putnam High School 'B' (Plunkett, Maddison , Arnold, Megan , Shaw, Katie , Sutkowski, Macy ), 2:36.15.
Girls 200 Yard Freestyle: 1, Alford, Elizabeth, NPHS, 2:19.27. 2, Beasley, Katie Jo, SPHS, 2:25.22. 3, Cox, Kaelynn, GHS, 2:32.82. 4, Moore, Rebecca, GHS, 2:37.80. 5, Deszi, Morgan, SPHS, 2:38.18. 6, Stevens, Kristen, GHS, 2:39.32. 7, Wilson, Ashley, SPHS, 2:46.48. 8, Roberts, Jessica, GHS, 2:53.08. 9, Mason, Kaitlynne, GHS, 2:53.11. 10, Frieje, Samantha, NPHS, 2:53.98. 11, Buchanon, Rorie, NPHS, 3:20.75.
Girls 200 Yard Individual Medley: 1, Brush, Elizabeth, GHS, 2:38.92. 2, Wheeler, Emily, GHS, 2:45.24. 3, Gomez, Rosio, GHS, 2:47.16. 4, Kiste, Katie, SPHS, 3:02.81. 5, Arnold, Megan, SPHS, 3:05.18. 6, Hansen, Beth Ann, GHS, 3:06.64. 7, Muse, Rebecca, NPHS, 3:08.45. 8, Kelley, Tasha, SPHS, 3:30.12.
Girls 50 Yard Freestyle: 1, Smith, Amelia, GHS, 28.12. 2, Romer, Corrie, GHS, 28.13. 3, Custis, Rachel, GHS, 29.35. 4, Hansel, Katie, SPHS, 30.03. 5, Moore, Alexandra, NPHS, 32.55. 6, Kiste, Tori, SPHS, 32.74. 7, Livesay, Sierra, NPHS, 33.17. 8, Brattain, Hannah, GHS, 34.94. 9, Gray, Hannah, NPHS, 36.03. 10, Hettich, Michayla, SPHS, 36.36. 11, Fauvergue, Madi, GHS, 39.93. 12, McDaniel, Erin, NPHS, 41.37.
Girls 1 meter Diving: 1, Plunkett, Maddison, SPHS, 138.75. 2, Sullivan, Courtney, SPHS, 136.15. 3, Cassida, Sydney, GHS, 112.35. 4, Fauvergue, Madi, GHS, 106.65.
Girls 100 Yard Butterfly: 1, Gomez, Rosio, GHS, 1:12.82. 2, Meyer, Mallary, GHS, 1:13.32. 3, Beasley, Lyndsie, SPHS, 1:22.94. 4, Shaw, Katie, SPHS, 1:34.69. 5, Muse, Rebecca, NPHS, 1:35.16. 6, Kelley, Tasha, SPHS, 1:38.21. 7, Roberts, Jessica, GHS, 1:42.97.
Girls 100 Yard Freestyle: 1, Romer, Corrie, GHS, 1:03.28. 2, Smith, Amelia, GHS, 1:03.35. 3, Alford, Elizabeth, NPHS, 1:04.17. 4, Cox, Kaelynn, GHS, 1:04.46. 5, Beasley, Katie Jo, SPHS, 1:05.90. 6, Kiste, Tori, SPHS, 1:12.70. 7, Moore, Alexandra, NPHS, 1:14.71. 8, Sutkowski, Macy, SPHS, 1:15.54. 9, Livesay, Sierra, NPHS, 1:17.89. 10, Roberts, Lyndsay, NPHS, 1:22.59. 11, Anderson, Caitlyn, GHS, 1:24.37. 12, McDaniel, Erin, NPHS, 1:37.24.
Girls 500 Yard Freestyle: 1, Brush, Elizabeth, GHS, 6:29.86. 2, Hansel, Katie, SPHS, 6:50.70. 3, Moore, Rebecca, GHS, 7:00.62. 4, Wilson, Ashley, SPHS, 7:16.07. 5, Stevens, Kristen, GHS, 7:16.93. 6, Frieje, Samantha, NPHS, 7:57.06. 7, Wolf, Autumn, NPHS, 8:00.19. 8, Buchanon, Rorie, NPHS, 9:34.65.
Girls 200 Yard Freestyle Relay: 1, Greencastle High School 'A' (Wheeler, Emily , Cox, Kaelynn , Romer, Corrie , Smith, Amelia ), 1:54.27. 2, South Putnam High School 'A' (Beasley, Katie Jo , Shaw, Katie , Beasley, Lyndsie , Hansel, Katie ), 2:02.82. 3, North Putnam High School 'A' (Alford, Elizabeth , Livesay, Sierra , Moore, Alexandra , Muse, Rebecca ), 2:05.87. 4, Greencastle High School 'B' (Roberts, Jessica , Mason, Kaitlynne , Gomez, Rosio , Moore, Rebecca ), 2:11.03. 5, South Putnam High School 'B' (Kiste, Tori , Arnold, Megan , Kiste, Katie , Sutkowski, Macy ), 2:13.71.
Girls 100 Yard Backstroke: 1, Meyer, Mallary, GHS, 1:12.97. 2, Custis, Rachel, GHS, 1:13.43. 3, Cassida, Sydney, GHS, 1:14.95. 4, Deszi, Morgan, SPHS, 1:18.02. 5, Plunkett, Maddison, SPHS, 1:28.02. 6, Gray, Hannah, NPHS, 1:30.48. 7, Wolf, Autumn, NPHS, 1:31.89.
Girls 100 Yard Breaststroke: 1, Wheeler, Emily, GHS, 1:22.68. 2, Hansen, Beth Ann, GHS, 1:25.47. 3, Brattain, Hannah, GHS, 1:27.87. 4, Kiste, Katie, SPHS, 1:35.30. 5, Roberts, Lyndsay, NPHS, 1:36.68. 6, Anderson, Caitlyn, GHS, 1:39.64. 7, Mason, Kaitlynne, GHS, 1:39.69. 8, Arnold, Megan, SPHS, 1:40.44.
Girls 400 Yard Freestyle Relay: 1, Greencastle High School 'A' (Brush, Elizabeth , Custis, Rachel , Cox, Kaelynn , Gomez, Rosio ), 4:32.88. 2, South Putnam High School 'A' (Beasley, Katie Jo , Shaw, Katie , Kiste, Tori , Beasley, Lyndsie ), 4:42.74. 3, Greencastle High School 'B' (Stevens, Kristen , Moore, Rebecca , Cassida, Sydney , Meyer, Mallary ), 4:42.95. 4, South Putnam High School 'B' (Wilson, Ashley , Kelley, Tasha , Plunkett, Maddison , Sutkowski, Macy ), 5:22.04. 5, North Putnam High School 'A' (Alford, Elizabeth , Moore, Alexandra , Frieje, Samantha , Wolf, Autumn ), 5:25.06.
No. 1 Tigers rely on roles unspoken
Thursday, January 24, 2013
DePauw senior Ellie Pearson does the dirty work inside for the Tigers, but each player knows her role.
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As the top-ranked DePauw University women's basketball team continued it dominant season by totally dismantling Wittenberg on Wednes-day, it became clear that the Tigers are capable of becoming more than a great team, but a legendary one.
DPU is more than just a collection of great players, though it is most certainly that. But it isn't their talent that makes the Tigers special, it's how perfectly constructed they are.
Their individual talents complement one another perfectly. Each player in the rotation has a specific role, tailored perfectly to her skills, and she rarely deviates from it.
"I think we really rely on people accepting roles on this team," DePauw coach Kris Huffman said. "We're looking for people that have that team mentality and selflessness."
As senior Ellie Pearson describes it, the team doesn't talk about roles, it's just a natural progression of how they all play.
"They're kind of unspoken roles," Pearson said. "We don't have any determined roles, but they're kind of known, if that makes sense."
Senior point guard Kate Walker sets the tone for the team -- passing before shooting, looking for open shooters as she attacks the lane -- but she isn't the lone leader.
Pearson is the team's leading rebounder, averaging nearly eight per game (in limited time).
She needs to average a little more than 15 rebounds per game for the rest of the season to set the DePauw career rebounding record, something she is capable of -- were she given the minutes -- but something she won't do because the team is too good for her to play enough.
(None of the starters gets more than 23 minutes per game. The Tigers blow out nearly every opponent. They learn more about execution in practice than they do in games. Echoing the UCLA men's teams of the late 60s, the only team that's physically a match for the DPU starters in the DPU bench.)
Junior Alex Gasaway is the team's leading scorer, utilizing an assortment of DeJuan Blair-like post moves to fight through contact and provide the team it's inside offensive threat.
Junior Ali Ross is the team's defensive stopper. She picks up the opposing point guard full court, hounding her opponent relentlessly.
The fifth starter, sophomore Savannah Trees, is an electric scorer capable of knocking down shots from the outside (she makes better than 50 percent of her threes) or putting the ball on the floor and knocking down a runner in the lane.
"On any given night anyone could go off for 20," Pearson said. "It's just kind of fun sitting in the locker room before the game thinking, 'All right, who is it going to be tonight?' Someone always steps up, but then if you go and look at our team it's very balanced scoring (averages)."
Each of the players is capable of more -- Walker, Ross and even Gasaway are capable of stepping outside and knocking down open threes, "In the flow of the game," Gasaway says; Pearson leads the Tigers in blocks and steals (she had four of each on Wednesday) -- but they never deviate, always staying within themselves.
The roles go beyond the starters.
Junior Alison Stephens would start for any other team in the country. She's and inside-outside scoring threat who is also second on the team in rebounds.
Senior Kat Molloy picks up the defensive pressure when Ross goes to the bench.
It goes on.
Whatever five-woman unit the Tigers have on the court, each player falls into her lane.
The players' willingness to take a step back with her personal numbers to help the team makes the difference between a great team and a legendary one.
It's why Butler made consecutive championship games and why the Los Angeles Lakers -- with four likely Hall of Famers -- are on pace to miss the NBA playoffs.
The players on DePauw's basketball team are very good, maybe even great. The team is phenomenal.
DPU women move to 18-0 by rolling past Wittenberg
Thursday, January 24, 2013
By halftime against Wittenberg, the only thing in question for the DePauw women's basketball team was whether or not it would double-up the score of its opponent. The host Tigers did exactly that, winning 74-37.
"We never go into a game (preparing) like we're better than an opponent. Coach (Huffman) always prepares us the same -- same scouting report, same amount of film, same prep during practice," DPU junior Alex Gasaway said. "But our goal is always to bury them."
Gasaway had a season-high 27 points against Wittenberg despite playing only 18 minutes.
"She had a nice game," Tigers coach Kris Huffman said. "She's coming off having the flu, so it was a good performance. And she wanted the ball, which was nice to see."
DePauw started the game slow, at least by its standards, leading by only two (16-14) with 10:44 left in the first half.
They rolled from there, finishing the half on a 20-4 run to take a 36-18 lead into the break.
Gasaway scored 11 in the first half, then continued where she left off in the second, attacking the basket and getting to the line. She mad 12-of-13 free throws in the game.
"I expect contact when I go in for layups or shots down low, but I don't typically expect for them to call it," Gasaway said. "Sometimes they call it, sometimes they don't. But I expect contact."
The win was DePauw's 43rd straight regular season victory, adding one more to the school-record to start a season. The Tigers are now 18-0.
They'll return to action Saturday when they host Ohio Wesleyan at 1 p.m.
DePauw junior Alex Gasaway pulls in a rebound over Wittenberg on Tuesday. She scored a game- and season-high 27 points.
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At DePauw
Wittenberg 18 19 -- 37
DePauw 36 38 -- 74
Individual scoring
Wittenberg (8-9, 4-4 NCAC): Rice 3-10 1-2 8, Haralamos 2-8 2-2 6, Lara 2-7 1-2 5, Daniel-Hamberg 2-8 1-2 5, Schroeder 2-3 1-2 5, Replogle 2-5 0-0 4, Skidmore 1-5 0-0 2, Miller 1-3 0-0 2.
DePauw (18-0, 9-0): Gasaway 7-11 12-13 27, Trees 5-9 0-0 11, Stephens 3-7 1-1 8, Molloy 2-4 2-2 7, Pearson 2-6 1-5 5, Walker 2-3 0-0 4, Ross 1-4 1-2 3, Ondik 1-2 0-0 3, Abendroth 1-4 0-0 3, Keller 0-1 2-2 2, McDonagh 0-0 1-2 1, Sarkisian 0-1 0-0 0, Stoner 0-0 0-0 0, Skordos 0-2 0-0 0, Hacker 0-1 0-0 0, Lukemeyer 0-2 0-1 0, Francis 0-0 0-0 0.
Team scoring (three-pointers)
Wittenberg 15-49 (1-15) 6-10 37, DePauw 24-57 (6-13) 20-28 74.
Rebounds (offensive)
Wittenberg 30 (9), DePauw 40 (15).
Turnovers
Wittenberg 23, DePauw 11.
Last-second shot helps Warriors knock out NPHS
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Turkey Run junior Jordan Goddard pulls up for her game-winning layup, shooting over North Putnam juniors Bethany Wiatt (5) and Madi Asbell to get the win.
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ROACHDALE -- Big Ten fans know that in a slow-paced, every-possession-matters-more kind of game, every mistake and every success is magnified.
So when Turkey Run junior Jordan Goddard sank a layup from the right block as time expired to give her team a 33-32 win at North Putnam, the Cougars had numerous plays they could point to as a culprit.
North Putnam (4-14, 0-3 WCC) had several success on Tuesday: senior Sam Lucas scored 16 points and grabbed 13 rebounds; junior Bethany Wiatt had seven steals, to go along with her seven points; the squad had only 14 turnovers.
But the positives were balanced out by what the Warriors did well: winning the rebound battle 34-29; slowing the game down to their pace.
Most importantly, though, Turkey Run had the ball last.
"I told the girls at halftime that (Turkey Run) was going to try to slow the game down and keep the tempo down and make it low possession," NPHS coach Curtis Lawrence said. "When we see a short bench (Turkey Run dressed six players), we want to try to pick the tempo up."
As Turkey Run (2-17) slowed the pace of the game down to a crawl, the Cougars couldn't ever seem to inject energy.
The crisp, decisive passing of the Warriors negated the NPHS press, and falling back on defense meant sitting in a zone and waiting Turkey Run to make a mistake.
The Cougars capitalized in spurts, but that meant building a lead up to only five.
As the clock ticked away late in the fourth quarter, the Cougars up one point, it seemed like the Warriors would work it down for the last shot.
Turkey Run had tried to burn the final forty seconds of the third quarter in the Four Corners offense, but it turned the ball over late.
As Wiatt dove on a loose ball, the game tied with 11 seconds left in the fourth, they repeated their mistake.
Wiatt tied the ball up and the possession arrow pointed for North Putnam.
Lucas was fouled on the inbounds and sank one-of-two free throws to take the lead with 3.2 seconds remaining.
After a timeout, the Warriors took the ball out on the sideline near half court.
"It was a poor coaching move on my part at the end," Lawrence said. "I shouldn't have had (senior Cayla Kientz) guarding the ball out of bounds with 3.2. I should have had her back in the middle of the lane. That kind of made everybody help."
Senior Chelsie Wood appeared trapped on the sideline but found Goddard under the basket for a layup.
Goddard finished the game with 14 points (six-of-nine from the field) and seven rebounds.
The Cougars will be back in action Friday when they host Greencastle at 6 p.m. It is also the NPHS homecoming.
At North Putnam
Turkey Run 7 5 10 11 -- 33
North Putnam 8 5 12 7 -- 32
Individual scoring
Turkey Run (2-17): Goddard 6-9 2-3 14, Grayless 3-7 1-3 7, Thompson 1-4 0-0 3, Bowling 1-5 0-0 3, Wood 0-9 3-5 3, Basan 1-2 0-0 3.
North Putnam (4-14, 0-3): Lucas 5-11 6-8 16, Wiatt 3-6 1-2 7, Smith 3-10 0-2 6, Asbell 1-7 0-2 2, Kientz 0-1 1-2 1, Nauert 0-2 0-0 0, Aynes 0-3 0-0 0, Land 0-0 0-0 0.
Team scoring (three-pointers)
TR 12-37 (3-12) 6-12 33, NP 12-39 (0-0) 8-16 32.
Rebounds (offensive)
TR 34 (12), NP 29 (11).
Turnovers
TR 20, NP 14.
Tiger Cub girls take county swim title
Friday, January 25, 2013
Greencastle's senior captains Kaitlynne Mason (center) and Kaelynn Cox celebrate winning the 2013 Putnam County girls' swimming and diving championship by claiming the trophy with head coach Kent Menzel.
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The Greencastle girls' swimming and diving team completed a local tournament sweep on Thursday, winning the 2013 Putnam County meet at South Putnam with 315 points.
The Tiger Cubs won the West Central Conference title a few weeks ago.
At the county meet South Putnam finished second with 196 and North Putnam was third with 95.
GHS had county champions in 10 of the 12 events, including wins in each of the three valuable relays.
Mallary Meyer, Emily Wheeler, Amelia Smith, Corrie Romer, Libby Brush, Amelia Smith, Rosio Gomez, Kaelynn Cox and Rachel Custis each won individual or relay victories.
"Given where we are in our plans for next week, I think they swam very, very well," GHS coach Kent Menzel said. "I was particularly happy with our relays. I thought they were on top of things tonight ... I thought they all meshed really well."
The Tiger Cubs have been relaxing their training in preparation for the start of the postseason next week.
Preliminaries for the sectional meet are Thursday night in Avon, and Menzel said he is hoping the team will be peaking at the right time.
"The girls were working on events that they're going to be swimming next week at the sectional," Menzel said. "They're where we want them to be. As the next seven days unfold, I think we'll sharpen them up quite a bit."
The Eagles had one individual champion, freshman diver Maddison Plunkett, to combine with several strong races.
"She got a little worked up; I don't know that she was happy with her performance," SPHS coach Matt Edwards said. "But I'm happy to see both her and Courtney (Sullivan) come out on top for one and two. They were first and second in both conference and county.
"That's a pretty big accomplishment. They both work very hard. They're in here morning after morning, trying to perfect things."
The Eagles' girls had mixed emotions about the meet, Edwards said, because it is the final regular season meet of the year.
"They know that this is their last 'season' kind of meet," Edwards said. "A lot of them wanted to swim their best times. And they did a heck of a job with that.
"The biggest thing I noticed tonight was just their racing. They put on some really good races. I've got to give credit to North Putnam and Greencastle, because they're good competitors, and our girls know that.
"Tonight was really about beating the girls to the left and to the right of them ... and practicing good racing. They did wonders, and I'm really proud of them."
North Putnam came through with one with individual champion as well. Elizabeth Alford swam an impressive 2:19.27 in the 200-yard freestyle, winning the race by nearly six seconds.
"The standout was Elizabeth Alford," NPHS coach Tony Gray said. "She won the county championship in the 200 and almost pulled it out in the 100. She just didn't quite have a good turn in that last wall, but she's worked really hard this year. I think the best things are in the future for her."
The Cougars have been improving steadily throughout the year and the county meet was a positive conclusion to the regular season, Gray said.
"The girls did a good job," he said. "They had fun tonight, they competed hard. Maybe the times weren't exactly where we wanted, but they just started taper.
"They're smiling so I'm smiling."
With the postseason approaching quickly, each team competing Thursday came into the meet hoping to be ready for next Thursday's sectional 11 preliminary races at Avon.
Greencastle swimmers Mallary Meyer (top) and Rachel Custis fight for the finish line in the 100-yard backstroke event on Thursday. Meyer out-touched Custis to come away with a win and secure the county championship with a time of 1:12.97.
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
At South Putnam
2013 Girls' Putnam County Championship
Team score -- Final
1, Greencastle High School, 315. 2, South Putnam High School, 196. 3, North Putnam High School, 95.
Event results
Girls 200 Yard Medley Relay: 1, Greencastle High School 'A' (Meyer, Mallary , Wheeler, Emily , Smith, Amelia , Romer, Corrie ), 2:09.02. 2, South Putnam High School 'A' (Deszi, Morgan , Kiste, Katie , Beasley, Lyndsie , Hansel, Katie ), 2:21.56. 3, Greencastle High School 'B' (Mason, Kaitlynne , Hansen, Beth Ann , Cassida, Sydney , Custis, Rachel ), 2:24.25. 4, North Putnam High School 'A' (Gray, Hannah , Roberts, Lyndsay , Muse, Rebecca , Livesay, Sierra ), 2:32.93. 5, South Putnam High School 'B' (Plunkett, Maddison , Arnold, Megan , Shaw, Katie , Sutkowski, Macy ), 2:36.15.
Girls 200 Yard Freestyle: 1, Alford, Elizabeth, NPHS, 2:19.27. 2, Beasley, Katie Jo, SPHS, 2:25.22. 3, Cox, Kaelynn, GHS, 2:32.82. 4, Moore, Rebecca, GHS, 2:37.80. 5, Deszi, Morgan, SPHS, 2:38.18. 6, Stevens, Kristen, GHS, 2:39.32. 7, Wilson, Ashley, SPHS, 2:46.48. 8, Roberts, Jessica, GHS, 2:53.08. 9, Mason, Kaitlynne, GHS, 2:53.11. 10, Frieje, Samantha, NPHS, 2:53.98. 11, Buchanon, Rorie, NPHS, 3:20.75.
Girls 200 Yard Individual Medley: 1, Brush, Elizabeth, GHS, 2:38.92. 2, Wheeler, Emily, GHS, 2:45.24. 3, Gomez, Rosio, GHS, 2:47.16. 4, Kiste, Katie, SPHS, 3:02.81. 5, Arnold, Megan, SPHS, 3:05.18. 6, Hansen, Beth Ann, GHS, 3:06.64. 7, Muse, Rebecca, NPHS, 3:08.45. 8, Kelley, Tasha, SPHS, 3:30.12.
Girls 50 Yard Freestyle: 1, Smith, Amelia, GHS, 28.12. 2, Romer, Corrie, GHS, 28.13. 3, Custis, Rachel, GHS, 29.35. 4, Hansel, Katie, SPHS, 30.03. 5, Moore, Alexandra, NPHS, 32.55. 6, Kiste, Tori, SPHS, 32.74. 7, Livesay, Sierra, NPHS, 33.17. 8, Brattain, Hannah, GHS, 34.94. 9, Gray, Hannah, NPHS, 36.03. 10, Hettich, Michayla, SPHS, 36.36. 11, Fauvergue, Madi, GHS, 39.93. 12, McDaniel, Erin, NPHS, 41.37.
Girls 1 meter Diving: 1, Plunkett, Maddison, SPHS, 138.75. 2, Sullivan, Courtney, SPHS, 136.15. 3, Cassida, Sydney, GHS, 112.35. 4, Fauvergue, Madi, GHS, 106.65.
Girls 100 Yard Butterfly: 1, Gomez, Rosio, GHS, 1:12.82. 2, Meyer, Mallary, GHS, 1:13.32. 3, Beasley, Lyndsie, SPHS, 1:22.94. 4, Shaw, Katie, SPHS, 1:34.69. 5, Muse, Rebecca, NPHS, 1:35.16. 6, Kelley, Tasha, SPHS, 1:38.21. 7, Roberts, Jessica, GHS, 1:42.97.
Girls 100 Yard Freestyle: 1, Romer, Corrie, GHS, 1:03.28. 2, Smith, Amelia, GHS, 1:03.35. 3, Alford, Elizabeth, NPHS, 1:04.17. 4, Cox, Kaelynn, GHS, 1:04.46. 5, Beasley, Katie Jo, SPHS, 1:05.90. 6, Kiste, Tori, SPHS, 1:12.70. 7, Moore, Alexandra, NPHS, 1:14.71. 8, Sutkowski, Macy, SPHS, 1:15.54. 9, Livesay, Sierra, NPHS, 1:17.89. 10, Roberts, Lyndsay, NPHS, 1:22.59. 11, Anderson, Caitlyn, GHS, 1:24.37. 12, McDaniel, Erin, NPHS, 1:37.24.
Girls 500 Yard Freestyle: 1, Brush, Elizabeth, GHS, 6:29.86. 2, Hansel, Katie, SPHS, 6:50.70. 3, Moore, Rebecca, GHS, 7:00.62. 4, Wilson, Ashley, SPHS, 7:16.07. 5, Stevens, Kristen, GHS, 7:16.93. 6, Frieje, Samantha, NPHS, 7:57.06. 7, Wolf, Autumn, NPHS, 8:00.19. 8, Buchanon, Rorie, NPHS, 9:34.65.
Girls 200 Yard Freestyle Relay: 1, Greencastle High School 'A' (Wheeler, Emily , Cox, Kaelynn , Romer, Corrie , Smith, Amelia ), 1:54.27. 2, South Putnam High School 'A' (Beasley, Katie Jo , Shaw, Katie , Beasley, Lyndsie , Hansel, Katie ), 2:02.82. 3, North Putnam High School 'A' (Alford, Elizabeth , Livesay, Sierra , Moore, Alexandra , Muse, Rebecca ), 2:05.87. 4, Greencastle High School 'B' (Roberts, Jessica , Mason, Kaitlynne , Gomez, Rosio , Moore, Rebecca ), 2:11.03. 5, South Putnam High School 'B' (Kiste, Tori , Arnold, Megan , Kiste, Katie , Sutkowski, Macy ), 2:13.71.
Girls 100 Yard Backstroke: 1, Meyer, Mallary, GHS, 1:12.97. 2, Custis, Rachel, GHS, 1:13.43. 3, Cassida, Sydney, GHS, 1:14.95. 4, Deszi, Morgan, SPHS, 1:18.02. 5, Plunkett, Maddison, SPHS, 1:28.02. 6, Gray, Hannah, NPHS, 1:30.48. 7, Wolf, Autumn, NPHS, 1:31.89.
Girls 100 Yard Breaststroke: 1, Wheeler, Emily, GHS, 1:22.68. 2, Hansen, Beth Ann, GHS, 1:25.47. 3, Brattain, Hannah, GHS, 1:27.87. 4, Kiste, Katie, SPHS, 1:35.30. 5, Roberts, Lyndsay, NPHS, 1:36.68. 6, Anderson, Caitlyn, GHS, 1:39.64. 7, Mason, Kaitlynne, GHS, 1:39.69. 8, Arnold, Megan, SPHS, 1:40.44.
Girls 400 Yard Freestyle Relay: 1, Greencastle High School 'A' (Brush, Elizabeth , Custis, Rachel , Cox, Kaelynn , Gomez, Rosio ), 4:32.88. 2, South Putnam High School 'A' (Beasley, Katie Jo , Shaw, Katie , Kiste, Tori , Beasley, Lyndsie ), 4:42.74. 3, Greencastle High School 'B' (Stevens, Kristen , Moore, Rebecca , Cassida, Sydney , Meyer, Mallary ), 4:42.95. 4, South Putnam High School 'B' (Wilson, Ashley , Kelley, Tasha , Plunkett, Maddison , Sutkowski, Macy ), 5:22.04. 5, North Putnam High School 'A' (Alford, Elizabeth , Moore, Alexandra , Frieje, Samantha , Wolf, Autumn ), 5:25.06.
No. 1 Tigers rely on roles unspoken
Thursday, January 24, 2013
DePauw senior Ellie Pearson does the dirty work inside for the Tigers, but each player knows her role.
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
As the top-ranked DePauw University women's basketball team continued it dominant season by totally dismantling Wittenberg on Wednes-day, it became clear that the Tigers are capable of becoming more than a great team, but a legendary one.
DPU is more than just a collection of great players, though it is most certainly that. But it isn't their talent that makes the Tigers special, it's how perfectly constructed they are.
Their individual talents complement one another perfectly. Each player in the rotation has a specific role, tailored perfectly to her skills, and she rarely deviates from it.
"I think we really rely on people accepting roles on this team," DePauw coach Kris Huffman said. "We're looking for people that have that team mentality and selflessness."
As senior Ellie Pearson describes it, the team doesn't talk about roles, it's just a natural progression of how they all play.
"They're kind of unspoken roles," Pearson said. "We don't have any determined roles, but they're kind of known, if that makes sense."
Senior point guard Kate Walker sets the tone for the team -- passing before shooting, looking for open shooters as she attacks the lane -- but she isn't the lone leader.
Pearson is the team's leading rebounder, averaging nearly eight per game (in limited time).
She needs to average a little more than 15 rebounds per game for the rest of the season to set the DePauw career rebounding record, something she is capable of -- were she given the minutes -- but something she won't do because the team is too good for her to play enough.
(None of the starters gets more than 23 minutes per game. The Tigers blow out nearly every opponent. They learn more about execution in practice than they do in games. Echoing the UCLA men's teams of the late 60s, the only team that's physically a match for the DPU starters in the DPU bench.)
Junior Alex Gasaway is the team's leading scorer, utilizing an assortment of DeJuan Blair-like post moves to fight through contact and provide the team it's inside offensive threat.
Junior Ali Ross is the team's defensive stopper. She picks up the opposing point guard full court, hounding her opponent relentlessly.
The fifth starter, sophomore Savannah Trees, is an electric scorer capable of knocking down shots from the outside (she makes better than 50 percent of her threes) or putting the ball on the floor and knocking down a runner in the lane.
"On any given night anyone could go off for 20," Pearson said. "It's just kind of fun sitting in the locker room before the game thinking, 'All right, who is it going to be tonight?' Someone always steps up, but then if you go and look at our team it's very balanced scoring (averages)."
Each of the players is capable of more -- Walker, Ross and even Gasaway are capable of stepping outside and knocking down open threes, "In the flow of the game," Gasaway says; Pearson leads the Tigers in blocks and steals (she had four of each on Wednesday) -- but they never deviate, always staying within themselves.
The roles go beyond the starters.
Junior Alison Stephens would start for any other team in the country. She's and inside-outside scoring threat who is also second on the team in rebounds.
Senior Kat Molloy picks up the defensive pressure when Ross goes to the bench.
It goes on.
Whatever five-woman unit the Tigers have on the court, each player falls into her lane.
The players' willingness to take a step back with her personal numbers to help the team makes the difference between a great team and a legendary one.
It's why Butler made consecutive championship games and why the Los Angeles Lakers -- with four likely Hall of Famers -- are on pace to miss the NBA playoffs.
The players on DePauw's basketball team are very good, maybe even great. The team is phenomenal.
DPU women move to 18-0 by rolling past Wittenberg
Thursday, January 24, 2013
By halftime against Wittenberg, the only thing in question for the DePauw women's basketball team was whether or not it would double-up the score of its opponent. The host Tigers did exactly that, winning 74-37.
"We never go into a game (preparing) like we're better than an opponent. Coach (Huffman) always prepares us the same -- same scouting report, same amount of film, same prep during practice," DPU junior Alex Gasaway said. "But our goal is always to bury them."
Gasaway had a season-high 27 points against Wittenberg despite playing only 18 minutes.
"She had a nice game," Tigers coach Kris Huffman said. "She's coming off having the flu, so it was a good performance. And she wanted the ball, which was nice to see."
DePauw started the game slow, at least by its standards, leading by only two (16-14) with 10:44 left in the first half.
They rolled from there, finishing the half on a 20-4 run to take a 36-18 lead into the break.
Gasaway scored 11 in the first half, then continued where she left off in the second, attacking the basket and getting to the line. She mad 12-of-13 free throws in the game.
"I expect contact when I go in for layups or shots down low, but I don't typically expect for them to call it," Gasaway said. "Sometimes they call it, sometimes they don't. But I expect contact."
The win was DePauw's 43rd straight regular season victory, adding one more to the school-record to start a season. The Tigers are now 18-0.
They'll return to action Saturday when they host Ohio Wesleyan at 1 p.m.
DePauw junior Alex Gasaway pulls in a rebound over Wittenberg on Tuesday. She scored a game- and season-high 27 points.
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
At DePauw
Wittenberg 18 19 -- 37
DePauw 36 38 -- 74
Individual scoring
Wittenberg (8-9, 4-4 NCAC): Rice 3-10 1-2 8, Haralamos 2-8 2-2 6, Lara 2-7 1-2 5, Daniel-Hamberg 2-8 1-2 5, Schroeder 2-3 1-2 5, Replogle 2-5 0-0 4, Skidmore 1-5 0-0 2, Miller 1-3 0-0 2.
DePauw (18-0, 9-0): Gasaway 7-11 12-13 27, Trees 5-9 0-0 11, Stephens 3-7 1-1 8, Molloy 2-4 2-2 7, Pearson 2-6 1-5 5, Walker 2-3 0-0 4, Ross 1-4 1-2 3, Ondik 1-2 0-0 3, Abendroth 1-4 0-0 3, Keller 0-1 2-2 2, McDonagh 0-0 1-2 1, Sarkisian 0-1 0-0 0, Stoner 0-0 0-0 0, Skordos 0-2 0-0 0, Hacker 0-1 0-0 0, Lukemeyer 0-2 0-1 0, Francis 0-0 0-0 0.
Team scoring (three-pointers)
Wittenberg 15-49 (1-15) 6-10 37, DePauw 24-57 (6-13) 20-28 74.
Rebounds (offensive)
Wittenberg 30 (9), DePauw 40 (15).
Turnovers
Wittenberg 23, DePauw 11.
Tiger Cub girls take county swim title
Friday, January 25, 2013
Greencastle's senior captains Kaitlynne Mason (center) and Kaelynn Cox celebrate winning the 2013 Putnam County girls' swimming and diving championship by claiming the trophy with head coach Kent Menzel.
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
The Greencastle girls' swimming and diving team completed a local tournament sweep on Thursday, winning the 2013 Putnam County meet at South Putnam with 315 points.
The Tiger Cubs won the West Central Conference title a few weeks ago.
At the county meet South Putnam finished second with 196 and North Putnam was third with 95.
GHS had county champions in 10 of the 12 events, including wins in each of the three valuable relays.
Mallary Meyer, Emily Wheeler, Amelia Smith, Corrie Romer, Libby Brush, Amelia Smith, Rosio Gomez, Kaelynn Cox and Rachel Custis each won individual or relay victories.
"Given where we are in our plans for next week, I think they swam very, very well," GHS coach Kent Menzel said. "I was particularly happy with our relays. I thought they were on top of things tonight ... I thought they all meshed really well."
The Tiger Cubs have been relaxing their training in preparation for the start of the postseason next week.
Preliminaries for the sectional meet are Thursday night in Avon, and Menzel said he is hoping the team will be peaking at the right time.
"The girls were working on events that they're going to be swimming next week at the sectional," Menzel said. "They're where we want them to be. As the next seven days unfold, I think we'll sharpen them up quite a bit."
The Eagles had one individual champion, freshman diver Maddison Plunkett, to combine with several strong races.
"She got a little worked up; I don't know that she was happy with her performance," SPHS coach Matt Edwards said. "But I'm happy to see both her and Courtney (Sullivan) come out on top for one and two. They were first and second in both conference and county.
"That's a pretty big accomplishment. They both work very hard. They're in here morning after morning, trying to perfect things."
The Eagles' girls had mixed emotions about the meet, Edwards said, because it is the final regular season meet of the year.
"They know that this is their last 'season' kind of meet," Edwards said. "A lot of them wanted to swim their best times. And they did a heck of a job with that.
"The biggest thing I noticed tonight was just their racing. They put on some really good races. I've got to give credit to North Putnam and Greencastle, because they're good competitors, and our girls know that.
"Tonight was really about beating the girls to the left and to the right of them ... and practicing good racing. They did wonders, and I'm really proud of them."
North Putnam came through with one with individual champion as well. Elizabeth Alford swam an impressive 2:19.27 in the 200-yard freestyle, winning the race by nearly six seconds.
"The standout was Elizabeth Alford," NPHS coach Tony Gray said. "She won the county championship in the 200 and almost pulled it out in the 100. She just didn't quite have a good turn in that last wall, but she's worked really hard this year. I think the best things are in the future for her."
The Cougars have been improving steadily throughout the year and the county meet was a positive conclusion to the regular season, Gray said.
"The girls did a good job," he said. "They had fun tonight, they competed hard. Maybe the times weren't exactly where we wanted, but they just started taper.
"They're smiling so I'm smiling."
With the postseason approaching quickly, each team competing Thursday came into the meet hoping to be ready for next Thursday's sectional 11 preliminary races at Avon.
Greencastle swimmers Mallary Meyer (top) and Rachel Custis fight for the finish line in the 100-yard backstroke event on Thursday. Meyer out-touched Custis to come away with a win and secure the county championship with a time of 1:12.97.
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
At South Putnam
2013 Girls' Putnam County Championship
Team score -- Final
1, Greencastle High School, 315. 2, South Putnam High School, 196. 3, North Putnam High School, 95.
Event results
Girls 200 Yard Medley Relay: 1, Greencastle High School 'A' (Meyer, Mallary , Wheeler, Emily , Smith, Amelia , Romer, Corrie ), 2:09.02. 2, South Putnam High School 'A' (Deszi, Morgan , Kiste, Katie , Beasley, Lyndsie , Hansel, Katie ), 2:21.56. 3, Greencastle High School 'B' (Mason, Kaitlynne , Hansen, Beth Ann , Cassida, Sydney , Custis, Rachel ), 2:24.25. 4, North Putnam High School 'A' (Gray, Hannah , Roberts, Lyndsay , Muse, Rebecca , Livesay, Sierra ), 2:32.93. 5, South Putnam High School 'B' (Plunkett, Maddison , Arnold, Megan , Shaw, Katie , Sutkowski, Macy ), 2:36.15.
Girls 200 Yard Freestyle: 1, Alford, Elizabeth, NPHS, 2:19.27. 2, Beasley, Katie Jo, SPHS, 2:25.22. 3, Cox, Kaelynn, GHS, 2:32.82. 4, Moore, Rebecca, GHS, 2:37.80. 5, Deszi, Morgan, SPHS, 2:38.18. 6, Stevens, Kristen, GHS, 2:39.32. 7, Wilson, Ashley, SPHS, 2:46.48. 8, Roberts, Jessica, GHS, 2:53.08. 9, Mason, Kaitlynne, GHS, 2:53.11. 10, Frieje, Samantha, NPHS, 2:53.98. 11, Buchanon, Rorie, NPHS, 3:20.75.
Girls 200 Yard Individual Medley: 1, Brush, Elizabeth, GHS, 2:38.92. 2, Wheeler, Emily, GHS, 2:45.24. 3, Gomez, Rosio, GHS, 2:47.16. 4, Kiste, Katie, SPHS, 3:02.81. 5, Arnold, Megan, SPHS, 3:05.18. 6, Hansen, Beth Ann, GHS, 3:06.64. 7, Muse, Rebecca, NPHS, 3:08.45. 8, Kelley, Tasha, SPHS, 3:30.12.
Girls 50 Yard Freestyle: 1, Smith, Amelia, GHS, 28.12. 2, Romer, Corrie, GHS, 28.13. 3, Custis, Rachel, GHS, 29.35. 4, Hansel, Katie, SPHS, 30.03. 5, Moore, Alexandra, NPHS, 32.55. 6, Kiste, Tori, SPHS, 32.74. 7, Livesay, Sierra, NPHS, 33.17. 8, Brattain, Hannah, GHS, 34.94. 9, Gray, Hannah, NPHS, 36.03. 10, Hettich, Michayla, SPHS, 36.36. 11, Fauvergue, Madi, GHS, 39.93. 12, McDaniel, Erin, NPHS, 41.37.
Girls 1 meter Diving: 1, Plunkett, Maddison, SPHS, 138.75. 2, Sullivan, Courtney, SPHS, 136.15. 3, Cassida, Sydney, GHS, 112.35. 4, Fauvergue, Madi, GHS, 106.65.
Girls 100 Yard Butterfly: 1, Gomez, Rosio, GHS, 1:12.82. 2, Meyer, Mallary, GHS, 1:13.32. 3, Beasley, Lyndsie, SPHS, 1:22.94. 4, Shaw, Katie, SPHS, 1:34.69. 5, Muse, Rebecca, NPHS, 1:35.16. 6, Kelley, Tasha, SPHS, 1:38.21. 7, Roberts, Jessica, GHS, 1:42.97.
Girls 100 Yard Freestyle: 1, Romer, Corrie, GHS, 1:03.28. 2, Smith, Amelia, GHS, 1:03.35. 3, Alford, Elizabeth, NPHS, 1:04.17. 4, Cox, Kaelynn, GHS, 1:04.46. 5, Beasley, Katie Jo, SPHS, 1:05.90. 6, Kiste, Tori, SPHS, 1:12.70. 7, Moore, Alexandra, NPHS, 1:14.71. 8, Sutkowski, Macy, SPHS, 1:15.54. 9, Livesay, Sierra, NPHS, 1:17.89. 10, Roberts, Lyndsay, NPHS, 1:22.59. 11, Anderson, Caitlyn, GHS, 1:24.37. 12, McDaniel, Erin, NPHS, 1:37.24.
Girls 500 Yard Freestyle: 1, Brush, Elizabeth, GHS, 6:29.86. 2, Hansel, Katie, SPHS, 6:50.70. 3, Moore, Rebecca, GHS, 7:00.62. 4, Wilson, Ashley, SPHS, 7:16.07. 5, Stevens, Kristen, GHS, 7:16.93. 6, Frieje, Samantha, NPHS, 7:57.06. 7, Wolf, Autumn, NPHS, 8:00.19. 8, Buchanon, Rorie, NPHS, 9:34.65.
Girls 200 Yard Freestyle Relay: 1, Greencastle High School 'A' (Wheeler, Emily , Cox, Kaelynn , Romer, Corrie , Smith, Amelia ), 1:54.27. 2, South Putnam High School 'A' (Beasley, Katie Jo , Shaw, Katie , Beasley, Lyndsie , Hansel, Katie ), 2:02.82. 3, North Putnam High School 'A' (Alford, Elizabeth , Livesay, Sierra , Moore, Alexandra , Muse, Rebecca ), 2:05.87. 4, Greencastle High School 'B' (Roberts, Jessica , Mason, Kaitlynne , Gomez, Rosio , Moore, Rebecca ), 2:11.03. 5, South Putnam High School 'B' (Kiste, Tori , Arnold, Megan , Kiste, Katie , Sutkowski, Macy ), 2:13.71.
Girls 100 Yard Backstroke: 1, Meyer, Mallary, GHS, 1:12.97. 2, Custis, Rachel, GHS, 1:13.43. 3, Cassida, Sydney, GHS, 1:14.95. 4, Deszi, Morgan, SPHS, 1:18.02. 5, Plunkett, Maddison, SPHS, 1:28.02. 6, Gray, Hannah, NPHS, 1:30.48. 7, Wolf, Autumn, NPHS, 1:31.89.
Girls 100 Yard Breaststroke: 1, Wheeler, Emily, GHS, 1:22.68. 2, Hansen, Beth Ann, GHS, 1:25.47. 3, Brattain, Hannah, GHS, 1:27.87. 4, Kiste, Katie, SPHS, 1:35.30. 5, Roberts, Lyndsay, NPHS, 1:36.68. 6, Anderson, Caitlyn, GHS, 1:39.64. 7, Mason, Kaitlynne, GHS, 1:39.69. 8, Arnold, Megan, SPHS, 1:40.44.
Girls 400 Yard Freestyle Relay: 1, Greencastle High School 'A' (Brush, Elizabeth , Custis, Rachel , Cox, Kaelynn , Gomez, Rosio ), 4:32.88. 2, South Putnam High School 'A' (Beasley, Katie Jo , Shaw, Katie , Kiste, Tori , Beasley, Lyndsie ), 4:42.74. 3, Greencastle High School 'B' (Stevens, Kristen , Moore, Rebecca , Cassida, Sydney , Meyer, Mallary ), 4:42.95. 4, South Putnam High School 'B' (Wilson, Ashley , Kelley, Tasha , Plunkett, Maddison , Sutkowski, Macy ), 5:22.04. 5, North Putnam High School 'A' (Alford, Elizabeth , Moore, Alexandra , Frieje, Samantha , Wolf, Autumn ), 5:25.06.
No. 1 Tigers rely on roles unspoken
Thursday, January 24, 2013
DePauw senior Ellie Pearson does the dirty work inside for the Tigers, but each player knows her role.
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
As the top-ranked DePauw University women's basketball team continued it dominant season by totally dismantling Wittenberg on Wednes-day, it became clear that the Tigers are capable of becoming more than a great team, but a legendary one.
DPU is more than just a collection of great players, though it is most certainly that. But it isn't their talent that makes the Tigers special, it's how perfectly constructed they are.
Their individual talents complement one another perfectly. Each player in the rotation has a specific role, tailored perfectly to her skills, and she rarely deviates from it.
"I think we really rely on people accepting roles on this team," DePauw coach Kris Huffman said. "We're looking for people that have that team mentality and selflessness."
As senior Ellie Pearson describes it, the team doesn't talk about roles, it's just a natural progression of how they all play.
"They're kind of unspoken roles," Pearson said. "We don't have any determined roles, but they're kind of known, if that makes sense."
Senior point guard Kate Walker sets the tone for the team -- passing before shooting, looking for open shooters as she attacks the lane -- but she isn't the lone leader.
Pearson is the team's leading rebounder, averaging nearly eight per game (in limited time).
She needs to average a little more than 15 rebounds per game for the rest of the season to set the DePauw career rebounding record, something she is capable of -- were she given the minutes -- but something she won't do because the team is too good for her to play enough.
(None of the starters gets more than 23 minutes per game. The Tigers blow out nearly every opponent. They learn more about execution in practice than they do in games. Echoing the UCLA men's teams of the late 60s, the only team that's physically a match for the DPU starters in the DPU bench.)
Junior Alex Gasaway is the team's leading scorer, utilizing an assortment of DeJuan Blair-like post moves to fight through contact and provide the team it's inside offensive threat.
Junior Ali Ross is the team's defensive stopper. She picks up the opposing point guard full court, hounding her opponent relentlessly.
The fifth starter, sophomore Savannah Trees, is an electric scorer capable of knocking down shots from the outside (she makes better than 50 percent of her threes) or putting the ball on the floor and knocking down a runner in the lane.
"On any given night anyone could go off for 20," Pearson said. "It's just kind of fun sitting in the locker room before the game thinking, 'All right, who is it going to be tonight?' Someone always steps up, but then if you go and look at our team it's very balanced scoring (averages)."
Each of the players is capable of more -- Walker, Ross and even Gasaway are capable of stepping outside and knocking down open threes, "In the flow of the game," Gasaway says; Pearson leads the Tigers in blocks and steals (she had four of each on Wednesday) -- but they never deviate, always staying within themselves.
The roles go beyond the starters.
Junior Alison Stephens would start for any other team in the country. She's and inside-outside scoring threat who is also second on the team in rebounds.
Senior Kat Molloy picks up the defensive pressure when Ross goes to the bench.
It goes on.
Whatever five-woman unit the Tigers have on the court, each player falls into her lane.
The players' willingness to take a step back with her personal numbers to help the team makes the difference between a great team and a legendary one.
It's why Butler made consecutive championship games and why the Los Angeles Lakers -- with four likely Hall of Famers -- are on pace to miss the NBA playoffs.
The players on DePauw's basketball team are very good, maybe even great. The team is phenomenal.
Tiger Cub girls take county swim title
Friday, January 25, 2013
Greencastle's senior captains Kaitlynne Mason (center) and Kaelynn Cox celebrate winning the 2013 Putnam County girls' swimming and diving championship by claiming the trophy with head coach Kent Menzel.
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The Greencastle girls' swimming and diving team completed a local tournament sweep on Thursday, winning the 2013 Putnam County meet at South Putnam with 315 points.
The Tiger Cubs won the West Central Conference title a few weeks ago.
At the county meet South Putnam finished second with 196 and North Putnam was third with 95.
GHS had county champions in 10 of the 12 events, including wins in each of the three valuable relays.
Mallary Meyer, Emily Wheeler, Amelia Smith, Corrie Romer, Libby Brush, Amelia Smith, Rosio Gomez, Kaelynn Cox and Rachel Custis each won individual or relay victories.
"Given where we are in our plans for next week, I think they swam very, very well," GHS coach Kent Menzel said. "I was particularly happy with our relays. I thought they were on top of things tonight ... I thought they all meshed really well."
The Tiger Cubs have been relaxing their training in preparation for the start of the postseason next week.
Preliminaries for the sectional meet are Thursday night in Avon, and Menzel said he is hoping the team will be peaking at the right time.
"The girls were working on events that they're going to be swimming next week at the sectional," Menzel said. "They're where we want them to be. As the next seven days unfold, I think we'll sharpen them up quite a bit."
The Eagles had one individual champion, freshman diver Maddison Plunkett, to combine with several strong races.
"She got a little worked up; I don't know that she was happy with her performance," SPHS coach Matt Edwards said. "But I'm happy to see both her and Courtney (Sullivan) come out on top for one and two. They were first and second in both conference and county.
"That's a pretty big accomplishment. They both work very hard. They're in here morning after morning, trying to perfect things."
The Eagles' girls had mixed emotions about the meet, Edwards said, because it is the final regular season meet of the year.
"They know that this is their last 'season' kind of meet," Edwards said. "A lot of them wanted to swim their best times. And they did a heck of a job with that.
"The biggest thing I noticed tonight was just their racing. They put on some really good races. I've got to give credit to North Putnam and Greencastle, because they're good competitors, and our girls know that.
"Tonight was really about beating the girls to the left and to the right of them ... and practicing good racing. They did wonders, and I'm really proud of them."
North Putnam came through with one with individual champion as well. Elizabeth Alford swam an impressive 2:19.27 in the 200-yard freestyle, winning the race by nearly six seconds.
"The standout was Elizabeth Alford," NPHS coach Tony Gray said. "She won the county championship in the 200 and almost pulled it out in the 100. She just didn't quite have a good turn in that last wall, but she's worked really hard this year. I think the best things are in the future for her."
The Cougars have been improving steadily throughout the year and the county meet was a positive conclusion to the regular season, Gray said.
"The girls did a good job," he said. "They had fun tonight, they competed hard. Maybe the times weren't exactly where we wanted, but they just started taper.
"They're smiling so I'm smiling."
With the postseason approaching quickly, each team competing Thursday came into the meet hoping to be ready for next Thursday's sectional 11 preliminary races at Avon.
Greencastle swimmers Mallary Meyer (top) and Rachel Custis fight for the finish line in the 100-yard backstroke event on Thursday. Meyer out-touched Custis to come away with a win and secure the county championship with a time of 1:12.97.
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
At South Putnam
2013 Girls' Putnam County Championship
Team score -- Final
1, Greencastle High School, 315. 2, South Putnam High School, 196. 3, North Putnam High School, 95.
Event results
Girls 200 Yard Medley Relay: 1, Greencastle High School 'A' (Meyer, Mallary , Wheeler, Emily , Smith, Amelia , Romer, Corrie ), 2:09.02. 2, South Putnam High School 'A' (Deszi, Morgan , Kiste, Katie , Beasley, Lyndsie , Hansel, Katie ), 2:21.56. 3, Greencastle High School 'B' (Mason, Kaitlynne , Hansen, Beth Ann , Cassida, Sydney , Custis, Rachel ), 2:24.25. 4, North Putnam High School 'A' (Gray, Hannah , Roberts, Lyndsay , Muse, Rebecca , Livesay, Sierra ), 2:32.93. 5, South Putnam High School 'B' (Plunkett, Maddison , Arnold, Megan , Shaw, Katie , Sutkowski, Macy ), 2:36.15.
Girls 200 Yard Freestyle: 1, Alford, Elizabeth, NPHS, 2:19.27. 2, Beasley, Katie Jo, SPHS, 2:25.22. 3, Cox, Kaelynn, GHS, 2:32.82. 4, Moore, Rebecca, GHS, 2:37.80. 5, Deszi, Morgan, SPHS, 2:38.18. 6, Stevens, Kristen, GHS, 2:39.32. 7, Wilson, Ashley, SPHS, 2:46.48. 8, Roberts, Jessica, GHS, 2:53.08. 9, Mason, Kaitlynne, GHS, 2:53.11. 10, Frieje, Samantha, NPHS, 2:53.98. 11, Buchanon, Rorie, NPHS, 3:20.75.
Girls 200 Yard Individual Medley: 1, Brush, Elizabeth, GHS, 2:38.92. 2, Wheeler, Emily, GHS, 2:45.24. 3, Gomez, Rosio, GHS, 2:47.16. 4, Kiste, Katie, SPHS, 3:02.81. 5, Arnold, Megan, SPHS, 3:05.18. 6, Hansen, Beth Ann, GHS, 3:06.64. 7, Muse, Rebecca, NPHS, 3:08.45. 8, Kelley, Tasha, SPHS, 3:30.12.
Girls 50 Yard Freestyle: 1, Smith, Amelia, GHS, 28.12. 2, Romer, Corrie, GHS, 28.13. 3, Custis, Rachel, GHS, 29.35. 4, Hansel, Katie, SPHS, 30.03. 5, Moore, Alexandra, NPHS, 32.55. 6, Kiste, Tori, SPHS, 32.74. 7, Livesay, Sierra, NPHS, 33.17. 8, Brattain, Hannah, GHS, 34.94. 9, Gray, Hannah, NPHS, 36.03. 10, Hettich, Michayla, SPHS, 36.36. 11, Fauvergue, Madi, GHS, 39.93. 12, McDaniel, Erin, NPHS, 41.37.
Girls 1 meter Diving: 1, Plunkett, Maddison, SPHS, 138.75. 2, Sullivan, Courtney, SPHS, 136.15. 3, Cassida, Sydney, GHS, 112.35. 4, Fauvergue, Madi, GHS, 106.65.
Girls 100 Yard Butterfly: 1, Gomez, Rosio, GHS, 1:12.82. 2, Meyer, Mallary, GHS, 1:13.32. 3, Beasley, Lyndsie, SPHS, 1:22.94. 4, Shaw, Katie, SPHS, 1:34.69. 5, Muse, Rebecca, NPHS, 1:35.16. 6, Kelley, Tasha, SPHS, 1:38.21. 7, Roberts, Jessica, GHS, 1:42.97.
Girls 100 Yard Freestyle: 1, Romer, Corrie, GHS, 1:03.28. 2, Smith, Amelia, GHS, 1:03.35. 3, Alford, Elizabeth, NPHS, 1:04.17. 4, Cox, Kaelynn, GHS, 1:04.46. 5, Beasley, Katie Jo, SPHS, 1:05.90. 6, Kiste, Tori, SPHS, 1:12.70. 7, Moore, Alexandra, NPHS, 1:14.71. 8, Sutkowski, Macy, SPHS, 1:15.54. 9, Livesay, Sierra, NPHS, 1:17.89. 10, Roberts, Lyndsay, NPHS, 1:22.59. 11, Anderson, Caitlyn, GHS, 1:24.37. 12, McDaniel, Erin, NPHS, 1:37.24.
Girls 500 Yard Freestyle: 1, Brush, Elizabeth, GHS, 6:29.86. 2, Hansel, Katie, SPHS, 6:50.70. 3, Moore, Rebecca, GHS, 7:00.62. 4, Wilson, Ashley, SPHS, 7:16.07. 5, Stevens, Kristen, GHS, 7:16.93. 6, Frieje, Samantha, NPHS, 7:57.06. 7, Wolf, Autumn, NPHS, 8:00.19. 8, Buchanon, Rorie, NPHS, 9:34.65.
Girls 200 Yard Freestyle Relay: 1, Greencastle High School 'A' (Wheeler, Emily , Cox, Kaelynn , Romer, Corrie , Smith, Amelia ), 1:54.27. 2, South Putnam High School 'A' (Beasley, Katie Jo , Shaw, Katie , Beasley, Lyndsie , Hansel, Katie ), 2:02.82. 3, North Putnam High School 'A' (Alford, Elizabeth , Livesay, Sierra , Moore, Alexandra , Muse, Rebecca ), 2:05.87. 4, Greencastle High School 'B' (Roberts, Jessica , Mason, Kaitlynne , Gomez, Rosio , Moore, Rebecca ), 2:11.03. 5, South Putnam High School 'B' (Kiste, Tori , Arnold, Megan , Kiste, Katie , Sutkowski, Macy ), 2:13.71.
Girls 100 Yard Backstroke: 1, Meyer, Mallary, GHS, 1:12.97. 2, Custis, Rachel, GHS, 1:13.43. 3, Cassida, Sydney, GHS, 1:14.95. 4, Deszi, Morgan, SPHS, 1:18.02. 5, Plunkett, Maddison, SPHS, 1:28.02. 6, Gray, Hannah, NPHS, 1:30.48. 7, Wolf, Autumn, NPHS, 1:31.89.
Girls 100 Yard Breaststroke: 1, Wheeler, Emily, GHS, 1:22.68. 2, Hansen, Beth Ann, GHS, 1:25.47. 3, Brattain, Hannah, GHS, 1:27.87. 4, Kiste, Katie, SPHS, 1:35.30. 5, Roberts, Lyndsay, NPHS, 1:36.68. 6, Anderson, Caitlyn, GHS, 1:39.64. 7, Mason, Kaitlynne, GHS, 1:39.69. 8, Arnold, Megan, SPHS, 1:40.44.
Girls 400 Yard Freestyle Relay: 1, Greencastle High School 'A' (Brush, Elizabeth , Custis, Rachel , Cox, Kaelynn , Gomez, Rosio ), 4:32.88. 2, South Putnam High School 'A' (Beasley, Katie Jo , Shaw, Katie , Kiste, Tori , Beasley, Lyndsie ), 4:42.74. 3, Greencastle High School 'B' (Stevens, Kristen , Moore, Rebecca , Cassida, Sydney , Meyer, Mallary ), 4:42.95. 4, South Putnam High School 'B' (Wilson, Ashley , Kelley, Tasha , Plunkett, Maddison , Sutkowski, Macy ), 5:22.04. 5, North Putnam High School 'A' (Alford, Elizabeth , Moore, Alexandra , Frieje, Samantha , Wolf, Autumn ), 5:25.06.
Tiger Cub girls take county swim title
Greencastle's senior captains Kaitlynne Mason (center) and Kaelynn Cox celebrate winning the 2013 Putnam County girls' swimming and diving championship by claiming the trophy with head coach Kent Menzel.
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(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
The Tiger Cubs won the West Central Conference title a few weeks ago.
At the county meet South Putnam finished second with 196 and North Putnam was third with 95.
GHS had county champions in 10 of the 12 events, including wins in each of the three valuable relays.
Mallary Meyer, Emily Wheeler, Amelia Smith, Corrie Romer, Libby Brush, Amelia Smith, Rosio Gomez, Kaelynn Cox and Rachel Custis each won individual or relay victories.
"Given where we are in our plans for next week, I think they swam very, very well," GHS coach Kent Menzel said. "I was particularly happy with our relays. I thought they were on top of things tonight ... I thought they all meshed really well."
The Tiger Cubs have been relaxing their training in preparation for the start of the postseason next week.
Preliminaries for the sectional meet are Thursday night in Avon, and Menzel said he is hoping the team will be peaking at the right time.
"The girls were working on events that they're going to be swimming next week at the sectional," Menzel said. "They're where we want them to be. As the next seven days unfold, I think we'll sharpen them up quite a bit."
The Eagles had one individual champion, freshman diver Maddison Plunkett, to combine with several strong races.
"She got a little worked up; I don't know that she was happy with her performance," SPHS coach Matt Edwards said. "But I'm happy to see both her and Courtney (Sullivan) come out on top for one and two. They were first and second in both conference and county.
"That's a pretty big accomplishment. They both work very hard. They're in here morning after morning, trying to perfect things."
The Eagles' girls had mixed emotions about the meet, Edwards said, because it is the final regular season meet of the year.
"They know that this is their last 'season' kind of meet," Edwards said. "A lot of them wanted to swim their best times. And they did a heck of a job with that.
"The biggest thing I noticed tonight was just their racing. They put on some really good races. I've got to give credit to North Putnam and Greencastle, because they're good competitors, and our girls know that.
"Tonight was really about beating the girls to the left and to the right of them ... and practicing good racing. They did wonders, and I'm really proud of them."
North Putnam came through with one with individual champion as well. Elizabeth Alford swam an impressive 2:19.27 in the 200-yard freestyle, winning the race by nearly six seconds.
"The standout was Elizabeth Alford," NPHS coach Tony Gray said. "She won the county championship in the 200 and almost pulled it out in the 100. She just didn't quite have a good turn in that last wall, but she's worked really hard this year. I think the best things are in the future for her."
The Cougars have been improving steadily throughout the year and the county meet was a positive conclusion to the regular season, Gray said.
"The girls did a good job," he said. "They had fun tonight, they competed hard. Maybe the times weren't exactly where we wanted, but they just started taper.
"They're smiling so I'm smiling."
With the postseason approaching quickly, each team competing Thursday came into the meet hoping to be ready for next Thursday's sectional 11 preliminary races at Avon.
Greencastle swimmers Mallary Meyer (top) and Rachel Custis fight for the finish line in the 100-yard backstroke event on Thursday. Meyer out-touched Custis to come away with a win and secure the county championship with a time of 1:12.97.
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(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
At South Putnam
2013 Girls' Putnam County Championship
Team score -- Final
1, Greencastle High School, 315. 2, South Putnam High School, 196. 3, North Putnam High School, 95.
Event results
Girls 200 Yard Medley Relay: 1, Greencastle High School 'A' (Meyer, Mallary , Wheeler, Emily , Smith, Amelia , Romer, Corrie ), 2:09.02. 2, South Putnam High School 'A' (Deszi, Morgan , Kiste, Katie , Beasley, Lyndsie , Hansel, Katie ), 2:21.56. 3, Greencastle High School 'B' (Mason, Kaitlynne , Hansen, Beth Ann , Cassida, Sydney , Custis, Rachel ), 2:24.25. 4, North Putnam High School 'A' (Gray, Hannah , Roberts, Lyndsay , Muse, Rebecca , Livesay, Sierra ), 2:32.93. 5, South Putnam High School 'B' (Plunkett, Maddison , Arnold, Megan , Shaw, Katie , Sutkowski, Macy ), 2:36.15.
Girls 200 Yard Freestyle: 1, Alford, Elizabeth, NPHS, 2:19.27. 2, Beasley, Katie Jo, SPHS, 2:25.22. 3, Cox, Kaelynn, GHS, 2:32.82. 4, Moore, Rebecca, GHS, 2:37.80. 5, Deszi, Morgan, SPHS, 2:38.18. 6, Stevens, Kristen, GHS, 2:39.32. 7, Wilson, Ashley, SPHS, 2:46.48. 8, Roberts, Jessica, GHS, 2:53.08. 9, Mason, Kaitlynne, GHS, 2:53.11. 10, Frieje, Samantha, NPHS, 2:53.98. 11, Buchanon, Rorie, NPHS, 3:20.75.
Girls 200 Yard Individual Medley: 1, Brush, Elizabeth, GHS, 2:38.92. 2, Wheeler, Emily, GHS, 2:45.24. 3, Gomez, Rosio, GHS, 2:47.16. 4, Kiste, Katie, SPHS, 3:02.81. 5, Arnold, Megan, SPHS, 3:05.18. 6, Hansen, Beth Ann, GHS, 3:06.64. 7, Muse, Rebecca, NPHS, 3:08.45. 8, Kelley, Tasha, SPHS, 3:30.12.
Girls 50 Yard Freestyle: 1, Smith, Amelia, GHS, 28.12. 2, Romer, Corrie, GHS, 28.13. 3, Custis, Rachel, GHS, 29.35. 4, Hansel, Katie, SPHS, 30.03. 5, Moore, Alexandra, NPHS, 32.55. 6, Kiste, Tori, SPHS, 32.74. 7, Livesay, Sierra, NPHS, 33.17. 8, Brattain, Hannah, GHS, 34.94. 9, Gray, Hannah, NPHS, 36.03. 10, Hettich, Michayla, SPHS, 36.36. 11, Fauvergue, Madi, GHS, 39.93. 12, McDaniel, Erin, NPHS, 41.37.
Girls 1 meter Diving: 1, Plunkett, Maddison, SPHS, 138.75. 2, Sullivan, Courtney, SPHS, 136.15. 3, Cassida, Sydney, GHS, 112.35. 4, Fauvergue, Madi, GHS, 106.65.
Girls 100 Yard Butterfly: 1, Gomez, Rosio, GHS, 1:12.82. 2, Meyer, Mallary, GHS, 1:13.32. 3, Beasley, Lyndsie, SPHS, 1:22.94. 4, Shaw, Katie, SPHS, 1:34.69. 5, Muse, Rebecca, NPHS, 1:35.16. 6, Kelley, Tasha, SPHS, 1:38.21. 7, Roberts, Jessica, GHS, 1:42.97.
Girls 100 Yard Freestyle: 1, Romer, Corrie, GHS, 1:03.28. 2, Smith, Amelia, GHS, 1:03.35. 3, Alford, Elizabeth, NPHS, 1:04.17. 4, Cox, Kaelynn, GHS, 1:04.46. 5, Beasley, Katie Jo, SPHS, 1:05.90. 6, Kiste, Tori, SPHS, 1:12.70. 7, Moore, Alexandra, NPHS, 1:14.71. 8, Sutkowski, Macy, SPHS, 1:15.54. 9, Livesay, Sierra, NPHS, 1:17.89. 10, Roberts, Lyndsay, NPHS, 1:22.59. 11, Anderson, Caitlyn, GHS, 1:24.37. 12, McDaniel, Erin, NPHS, 1:37.24.
Girls 500 Yard Freestyle: 1, Brush, Elizabeth, GHS, 6:29.86. 2, Hansel, Katie, SPHS, 6:50.70. 3, Moore, Rebecca, GHS, 7:00.62. 4, Wilson, Ashley, SPHS, 7:16.07. 5, Stevens, Kristen, GHS, 7:16.93. 6, Frieje, Samantha, NPHS, 7:57.06. 7, Wolf, Autumn, NPHS, 8:00.19. 8, Buchanon, Rorie, NPHS, 9:34.65.
Girls 200 Yard Freestyle Relay: 1, Greencastle High School 'A' (Wheeler, Emily , Cox, Kaelynn , Romer, Corrie , Smith, Amelia ), 1:54.27. 2, South Putnam High School 'A' (Beasley, Katie Jo , Shaw, Katie , Beasley, Lyndsie , Hansel, Katie ), 2:02.82. 3, North Putnam High School 'A' (Alford, Elizabeth , Livesay, Sierra , Moore, Alexandra , Muse, Rebecca ), 2:05.87. 4, Greencastle High School 'B' (Roberts, Jessica , Mason, Kaitlynne , Gomez, Rosio , Moore, Rebecca ), 2:11.03. 5, South Putnam High School 'B' (Kiste, Tori , Arnold, Megan , Kiste, Katie , Sutkowski, Macy ), 2:13.71.
Girls 100 Yard Backstroke: 1, Meyer, Mallary, GHS, 1:12.97. 2, Custis, Rachel, GHS, 1:13.43. 3, Cassida, Sydney, GHS, 1:14.95. 4, Deszi, Morgan, SPHS, 1:18.02. 5, Plunkett, Maddison, SPHS, 1:28.02. 6, Gray, Hannah, NPHS, 1:30.48. 7, Wolf, Autumn, NPHS, 1:31.89.
Girls 100 Yard Breaststroke: 1, Wheeler, Emily, GHS, 1:22.68. 2, Hansen, Beth Ann, GHS, 1:25.47. 3, Brattain, Hannah, GHS, 1:27.87. 4, Kiste, Katie, SPHS, 1:35.30. 5, Roberts, Lyndsay, NPHS, 1:36.68. 6, Anderson, Caitlyn, GHS, 1:39.64. 7, Mason, Kaitlynne, GHS, 1:39.69. 8, Arnold, Megan, SPHS, 1:40.44.
Girls 400 Yard Freestyle Relay: 1, Greencastle High School 'A' (Brush, Elizabeth , Custis, Rachel , Cox, Kaelynn , Gomez, Rosio ), 4:32.88. 2, South Putnam High School 'A' (Beasley, Katie Jo , Shaw, Katie , Kiste, Tori , Beasley, Lyndsie ), 4:42.74. 3, Greencastle High School 'B' (Stevens, Kristen , Moore, Rebecca , Cassida, Sydney , Meyer, Mallary ), 4:42.95. 4, South Putnam High School 'B' (Wilson, Ashley , Kelley, Tasha , Plunkett, Maddison , Sutkowski, Macy ), 5:22.04. 5, North Putnam High School 'A' (Alford, Elizabeth , Moore, Alexandra , Frieje, Samantha , Wolf, Autumn ), 5:25.06.
No. 1 Tigers rely on roles unspoken
DePauw senior Ellie Pearson does the dirty work inside for the Tigers, but each player knows her role.
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(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
DPU is more than just a collection of great players, though it is most certainly that. But it isn't their talent that makes the Tigers special, it's how perfectly constructed they are.
Their individual talents complement one another perfectly. Each player in the rotation has a specific role, tailored perfectly to her skills, and she rarely deviates from it.
As senior Ellie Pearson describes it, the team doesn't talk about roles, it's just a natural progression of how they all play.
"They're kind of unspoken roles," Pearson said. "We don't have any determined roles, but they're kind of known, if that makes sense."
Senior point guard Kate Walker sets the tone for the team -- passing before shooting, looking for open shooters as she attacks the lane -- but she isn't the lone leader.
Pearson is the team's leading rebounder, averaging nearly eight per game (in limited time).
She needs to average a little more than 15 rebounds per game for the rest of the season to set the DePauw career rebounding record, something she is capable of -- were she given the minutes -- but something she won't do because the team is too good for her to play enough.
(None of the starters gets more than 23 minutes per game. The Tigers blow out nearly every opponent. They learn more about execution in practice than they do in games. Echoing the UCLA men's teams of the late 60s, the only team that's physically a match for the DPU starters in the DPU bench.)
Junior Alex Gasaway is the team's leading scorer, utilizing an assortment of DeJuan Blair-like post moves to fight through contact and provide the team it's inside offensive threat.
Junior Ali Ross is the team's defensive stopper. She picks up the opposing point guard full court, hounding her opponent relentlessly.
The fifth starter, sophomore Savannah Trees, is an electric scorer capable of knocking down shots from the outside (she makes better than 50 percent of her threes) or putting the ball on the floor and knocking down a runner in the lane.
"On any given night anyone could go off for 20," Pearson said. "It's just kind of fun sitting in the locker room before the game thinking, 'All right, who is it going to be tonight?' Someone always steps up, but then if you go and look at our team it's very balanced scoring (averages)."
Each of the players is capable of more -- Walker, Ross and even Gasaway are capable of stepping outside and knocking down open threes, "In the flow of the game," Gasaway says; Pearson leads the Tigers in blocks and steals (she had four of each on Wednesday) -- but they never deviate, always staying within themselves.
The roles go beyond the starters.
Junior Alison Stephens would start for any other team in the country. She's and inside-outside scoring threat who is also second on the team in rebounds.
Senior Kat Molloy picks up the defensive pressure when Ross goes to the bench.
It goes on.
Whatever five-woman unit the Tigers have on the court, each player falls into her lane.
The players' willingness to take a step back with her personal numbers to help the team makes the difference between a great team and a legendary one.
It's why Butler made consecutive championship games and why the Los Angeles Lakers -- with four likely Hall of Famers -- are on pace to miss the NBA playoffs.
The players on DePauw's basketball team are very good, maybe even great. The team is phenomenal.
DPU women move to 18-0 by rolling past Wittenberg
"We never go into a game (preparing) like we're better than an opponent. Coach (Huffman) always prepares us the same -- same scouting report, same amount of film, same prep during practice," DPU junior Alex Gasaway said. "But our goal is always to bury them."
Gasaway had a season-high 27 points against Wittenberg despite playing only 18 minutes.
"She had a nice game," Tigers coach Kris Huffman said. "She's coming off having the flu, so it was a good performance. And she wanted the ball, which was nice to see."
DePauw started the game slow, at least by its standards, leading by only two (16-14) with 10:44 left in the first half.
They rolled from there, finishing the half on a 20-4 run to take a 36-18 lead into the break.
Gasaway scored 11 in the first half, then continued where she left off in the second, attacking the basket and getting to the line. She mad 12-of-13 free throws in the game.
"I expect contact when I go in for layups or shots down low, but I don't typically expect for them to call it," Gasaway said. "Sometimes they call it, sometimes they don't. But I expect contact."
The win was DePauw's 43rd straight regular season victory, adding one more to the school-record to start a season. The Tigers are now 18-0.
They'll return to action Saturday when they host Ohio Wesleyan at 1 p.m.
DePauw junior Alex Gasaway pulls in a rebound over Wittenberg on Tuesday. She scored a game- and season-high 27 points.
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(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
At DePauw
Wittenberg 18 19 -- 37
DePauw 36 38 -- 74
Individual scoring
Wittenberg (8-9, 4-4 NCAC): Rice 3-10 1-2 8, Haralamos 2-8 2-2 6, Lara 2-7 1-2 5, Daniel-Hamberg 2-8 1-2 5, Schroeder 2-3 1-2 5, Replogle 2-5 0-0 4, Skidmore 1-5 0-0 2, Miller 1-3 0-0 2.
DePauw (18-0, 9-0): Gasaway 7-11 12-13 27, Trees 5-9 0-0 11, Stephens 3-7 1-1 8, Molloy 2-4 2-2 7, Pearson 2-6 1-5 5, Walker 2-3 0-0 4, Ross 1-4 1-2 3, Ondik 1-2 0-0 3, Abendroth 1-4 0-0 3, Keller 0-1 2-2 2, McDonagh 0-0 1-2 1, Sarkisian 0-1 0-0 0, Stoner 0-0 0-0 0, Skordos 0-2 0-0 0, Hacker 0-1 0-0 0, Lukemeyer 0-2 0-1 0, Francis 0-0 0-0 0.
Team scoring (three-pointers)
Wittenberg 15-49 (1-15) 6-10 37, DePauw 24-57 (6-13) 20-28 74.
Rebounds (offensive)
Wittenberg 30 (9), DePauw 40 (15).
Turnovers
Wittenberg 23, DePauw 11.
Last-second shot helps Warriors knock out NPHS
Turkey Run junior Jordan Goddard pulls up for her game-winning layup, shooting over North Putnam juniors Bethany Wiatt (5) and Madi Asbell to get the win.
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(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
So when Turkey Run junior Jordan Goddard sank a layup from the right block as time expired to give her team a 33-32 win at North Putnam, the Cougars had numerous plays they could point to as a culprit.
North Putnam (4-14, 0-3 WCC) had several success on Tuesday: senior Sam Lucas scored 16 points and grabbed 13 rebounds; junior Bethany Wiatt had seven steals, to go along with her seven points; the squad had only 14 turnovers.
But the positives were balanced out by what the Warriors did well: winning the rebound battle 34-29; slowing the game down to their pace.
Most importantly, though, Turkey Run had the ball last.
"I told the girls at halftime that (Turkey Run) was going to try to slow the game down and keep the tempo down and make it low possession," NPHS coach Curtis Lawrence said. "When we see a short bench (Turkey Run dressed six players), we want to try to pick the tempo up."
As Turkey Run (2-17) slowed the pace of the game down to a crawl, the Cougars couldn't ever seem to inject energy.
The crisp, decisive passing of the Warriors negated the NPHS press, and falling back on defense meant sitting in a zone and waiting Turkey Run to make a mistake.
The Cougars capitalized in spurts, but that meant building a lead up to only five.
As the clock ticked away late in the fourth quarter, the Cougars up one point, it seemed like the Warriors would work it down for the last shot.
Turkey Run had tried to burn the final forty seconds of the third quarter in the Four Corners offense, but it turned the ball over late.
As Wiatt dove on a loose ball, the game tied with 11 seconds left in the fourth, they repeated their mistake.
Wiatt tied the ball up and the possession arrow pointed for North Putnam.
Lucas was fouled on the inbounds and sank one-of-two free throws to take the lead with 3.2 seconds remaining.
After a timeout, the Warriors took the ball out on the sideline near half court.
"It was a poor coaching move on my part at the end," Lawrence said. "I shouldn't have had (senior Cayla Kientz) guarding the ball out of bounds with 3.2. I should have had her back in the middle of the lane. That kind of made everybody help."
Senior Chelsie Wood appeared trapped on the sideline but found Goddard under the basket for a layup.
Goddard finished the game with 14 points (six-of-nine from the field) and seven rebounds.
The Cougars will be back in action Friday when they host Greencastle at 6 p.m. It is also the NPHS homecoming.
At North Putnam
Turkey Run 7 5 10 11 -- 33
North Putnam 8 5 12 7 -- 32
Individual scoring
Turkey Run (2-17): Goddard 6-9 2-3 14, Grayless 3-7 1-3 7, Thompson 1-4 0-0 3, Bowling 1-5 0-0 3, Wood 0-9 3-5 3, Basan 1-2 0-0 3.
North Putnam (4-14, 0-3): Lucas 5-11 6-8 16, Wiatt 3-6 1-2 7, Smith 3-10 0-2 6, Asbell 1-7 0-2 2, Kientz 0-1 1-2 1, Nauert 0-2 0-0 0, Aynes 0-3 0-0 0, Land 0-0 0-0 0.
Team scoring (three-pointers)
TR 12-37 (3-12) 6-12 33, NP 12-39 (0-0) 8-16 32.
Rebounds (offensive)
TR 34 (12), NP 29 (11).
Turnovers
TR 20, NP 14.
South Putnam has frustrating second half in loss to Bruins
South Putnam junior Sawyer Arnold plants and swings a crossover dribble around the Bruins on Saturday.
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The teams were tight at the half but the Eagles' collective frustration seemed to get the best of them at the break as they lost 67-44.
"We haven't come out in the third quarter this year," SPHS coach Troy Burgess said. "(Friday) night against Monrovia. (It was a) one-point game after two, then a 14-point game after three. We've got to figure something out in that third quarter."
The Eagles (5-7, 1-2 WCC) trailed by only seven at the break (28-21), despite a perfect first half from the field by Bruins junior Austin Lynn (6-6, 14 points).
Instead of building, SPHS came out sloppy. The players committed nine fouls and 10 turnovers in the third quarter, then lost their defensive intensity in the fourth.
"We're not coming out with the same intensity in the third quarter that we play the first and second, and then we dig ourselves a hole," Burgess said. "I don't know. I made a joke last night about it. Maybe I don't go in and talk to them. Maybe I pour them some orange juice and let them sit."
Tri-West (6-6) made 13-of-14 free throws in the final period, and six-of-seven two-point shots, en route to a 24-point quarter.
Sophomore Trevor Waite made eight-of-eight from the line in the final quarter to help secure the win.
Waite and Lynn each finished with game-highs of 22 points.
Junior Sawyer Arnold led the Eagles with 15 points. Junior Trey Moore had nine points and eight rebounds, and senior Justin Bumgardner had three and nine.
"(Tri-West) is a good basketball team," Burgess said. "Against good teams like this, you can't dig yourself a hole."
The Eagles will host Cloverdale on Friday at 7:30 p.m. It will be South Putnam High School's homecoming.
At Tri-West
South Putnam 11 10 9 14 -- 44
Tri-West 14 14 15 24 -- 67
Individual scoring
SP: Arnold 5-13 3-3 15, Moore 2-5 6-9 10, R Chestnut 2-4 2-2 6, Vittetow 2-7 0-1 6, Pell 1-4 1-2 4, Bumgardner 1-6 1-4 3, Mitchell 0-3 0-0 0, Long 0-1 0-1 0, Franklin 0-1 0-0 0, D Chestnut 0-1 0-0 0, Snow 0-0 0-0 0.
TW: Lynn 9-11 3-5 22, Waite 6-12 10-11 22, Alexander 3-8 4-4 10, Burks 4-4 0-2 8, Hendershot 1-5 1-4 3, Phelps 1-3 0-0 2, Koelling 0-5 0-0 0, Musial 0-1 0-0 0, Stamm 0-2 0-0 0, Gadberry 0-0 0-0 0, Miller 0-0 0-0 0, Vervynckt 0-0 0-0 0.
Team scoring (three-pointers)
SP 13-45 (5-14) 13-22 44, TW 24-51 (1-15) 19-28 67.
Rebounds (offensive)
SP 41 (20), TW 19(7).
Turnovers
SP 27, TW 10.
Green stands ground in NP win over Cloverdale
North Putnam senior Zach Green stands in the lane and braces for contact by Cloverdale junior Zach Dorman. Dorman was called for a charge that helped seal an NPHS win.
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(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN)[Order this photo]
North Putnam senior Zach Green made that play and helped the Cougars win, 59-56.
As junior Zach Dorman slashed through the lane, down two points with 31 seconds to go, it looked like it would be his day.
Dorman's eyes widened at the sight of the rim, but he failed to see Green sliding in front of him, planting his feet and standing firm.
As Dorman's layup rattled out, a pile of Zachs clogged the floor of the lane. The official's whistle sounded as he signaled a charge.
"Zach (Green) was tremendous," NPHS coach Nathan Martindale said. "That's the best game I've seen him play. Ever. He came in, he was under control, he scored some, he was quicker than some of the (Cloverdale) guards and he was able to get into the paint and get some layups for us.
"Then he had that huge charge in the fourth quarter. That was a make-or-break situation and we got the call."
Green's play led to a shooting foul at the other end. Junior Shane Beaman made one of two, extending the lead to three.
Sophomore Brantson Scott, who tied with Dorman as the game's high-scorer with 17, answered with a layup with 10 seconds left.
The subsequent inbounds pass missed its intended target, but Brody Pfaff was called for a foul as he and NPHS junior Jordan Nauert dove after the ball.
Nauert sank the pair, putting NPHS up three with six seconds left.
"He can do whatever he wants," Martindale said. "He's the type of kid that can shoot it when he needs to. He can pass it when he needs it. We even had him on the big kid (Dorman) tonight ... He's a very versatile player for us. We can put him in many different positions. I don't know too many guys that can defend the post and go out and play point guard on the way down.
"It was a total team-effort. All eight guys played great minutes for us."
The Clovers had been in similar situations before. They entered the game 3-2 in one-possession games including a buzzer-beating shot to beat Clay City last Saturday.
Unlike the other situations, when the players were taught to drive to the basket, Cloverdale trailed NPHS by three.
CHS coach Pat Rady called for a timeout.
"We wanted to get a three-point shot," Rady said. "We had two people lined up and they covered the other one (Collet) pretty well, so we went for the three-point shot (with Scott)."
Scott's attempt rattled out and Beaman hauled in the rebound to run out the clock.
The game hadn't always been close.
Cloverdale trailed 34-23 at the break, then proceeded to go on a 19-4 run to start the third quarter. Scott and junior Kedrick Collet (seven points in the quarter) sparked the rally that had the two teams enter the fourth quarter tied at 42.
The Clovers were helped by the foul trouble of the North Putnam bigs, seniors Jameson Brewer and Jake Haste.
"Our bigs played a little tentative because of fouls, so (Cloverdale was) able to get some things that they normally wouldn't have gotten," Martindale said.
Rady said that was all part of the plan.
"When we got certain guys in foul trouble, we were trying to put (Brewer and Haste) in low-post position and force them to have to defend," Rady said. "A lot of times when a guy's got foul trouble he won't defend as well."
Green finished with 11 points and a team-high seven rebounds.
North Putnam hosts Greencastle on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Cloverdale travels to South Putnam on the same date and time.
North Putnam junior Jordan Nauert blocks a slamdunk attempt by Cloverdale junior Zach Dorman in the third quarter on Friday.
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(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
At Cloverdale
North Putnam 16 18 8 17 -- 59
Cloverdale 10 13 19 14 -- 56
Individual scoring
North Putnam (3-10, 1-1 WCC): Brewer 8-17 0-3 16, Green 5-13 0-0 11, Hazelgrove 3-8 2-4 10, Nauert 1-6 3-4 6, Roberts 2-2 1-3 5, Beaman 1-2 1-2 4, Haste 2-6 0-0 4, Flynn 1-1 0-0 2.
Cloverdale (3-11, 0-4): Z Dorman 6-14 5-8 17, Scott 6-11 4-7 17, Collet 5-10 0-0 13 Pfaff 1-3 2-4 4, B Dorman 1-2 0-0 3, Schroer 0-4 0-0 0, Cupp 0-1 0-0 0.
Team scoring (three-pointers)
NP 23-55 (6-13) 7-16 59, CL 19-45 (5-15) 11-19 56.
Rebounds (offensive)
NP 30 (12), CL 30 (10).
Turnovers
NP 10, CL 17.
Clovers fend off pesky Cougars
Cloverdale senior Amillia Nally drives down the lane to hit a runner over the outstretched arm of North Putnam junior Bethany Wiatt. It was Nally's only field goal, but she assisted on seven others.
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN)
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN)
Cloverdale (7-11, 1-3 WCC) was led by senior point guard Amillia Nally, who assisted on seven of the team's 12 field goals.
"She's stepped up really big in these last three or four games," CHS coach Matthew Langdon said. "She's just really finding what it means to be a true point guard. She's the calming effect on the team. She's starting to learn when to attack and when not to attack.
"And that's great. There's going to be times when there's chances for those assists and there's times to dribble it out and pull it back and set it up."
North Putnam (4-13, 0-3) counted on the rebounding of senior Sam Lucas to keep it in the game. She finished with 11 boards.
Though neither team is dominant in both the perimeter and post, basketball comes down to matchups and the Clovers and Cougars present nightmares for one another.
Cloverdale's strength is in its guard play, where senior Nally, Paige Gruener and Bristy Skiles, along with sophomore Bailee Stevens, cause headaches with their aggressiveness and quickness.
North Putnam's forwards, seniors Lucas, Cayla Kientz and Cassie Aynes and freshman Taylor Nauert, have the size and aggressiveness the Cloverdale struggles with.
"It was physical both ways," NPHS coach Curtis Lawrence said. "Matthew (Langdon)'s kids did an outstanding job against us, just bodying our kids up and not letting us get those easy buckets on the inside."
The Cougars hung tough until halftime, trailing only by five (23-18) but the third quarter is where they've struggled all year.
"They held us for the first (ten) minutes of the second half to one point," Lawrence said. "If you go through a stretch like that, you're not going to win many ball games ... We had talked about, in the locker room (at halftime) coming out and trying to win the third quarter, and that seems to be the quarter we struggle with offensively."
The low-scoring third begat what was, by comparison, an explosive fourth.
Cloverdale's guards penetrated straight to the rim, drawing fouls and won the game at the line.
The Clovers made 10-of-14 from the charity stripe in the fourth, seizing the game.
The host Turkey Run on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. Cloverdale is back in action Friday in a pivotal conference showdown at South Putnam at 6 p.m.
At Cloverdale
North Putnam 8 10 1 13 -- 32
Cloverdale 11 12 5 18 -- 46
Individual scoring
North Putnam (4-13, 0-3): Wiatt 4-6 1-5 9, Asbell 2-14 3-4 8, Smith 1-6 2-2 5, Lucas 2-14 3-4 5, Kientz 1-1 0-1 2, Aynes 1-2 0-0 2, Nauert 0-3 0-0 0, Land 0-0 0-0 0.
Cloverdale (7-11, 1-3): Gruener 5-9 2-2 14, Shrum 3-5 2-2 8, Skiles 2-7 0-0 6, Clark 3-8 0-4 6, Stevens 1-1 3-6 5, Walters 1-1 2-2 4, Nally 1-8 1-2 3.
Team scoring (three-pointers)
NP 11-46 (1-6) 8-15 32, CL 12-40 (4-12) 10-15 46.
Rebounds (offensive)
NP 25 (10), CL 31 (7).
Turnovers
NP 20, CL 15.
Winning by a hair: pre-wrap versus headbands
North Putnam sophomore Morgan Smith and Southmont senior Jess Chadd demonstrate the two biggest factions in hair restraint. Smith, wearing a headband here, said she prefers to wear pre-wrap during games.
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(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
Basketball is a team game and when five players work together in synchronicity on the court, goals like winning the game are usually met.
But the players will each fight an individual battle, one that can divide teammates and fracture the pregame morale.
On this one topic, school pride takes a backseat to personal benefit. The battle not with the scoreboard, but with their hair.
Pre-wrap or headband?
"I use pre-wrap when I tape my ankles. I don't want it in my hair," North Putnam senior Cayla Kientz said. "I like headbands. The pre-wrap comes off my head and headbands stick better."
Her teammate, NPHS sophomore Morgan Smith had a notably different perspective.
"I have three rolls of pre-wrap in my bag right now -- orange, black and maroon," Smith said.
Others, like NPHS senior Cassie Aynes and junior Bethany Wiatt, don't have much use for either. With longer hair and no bangs, a ponytail is sufficient enough.
"If I start the game with a headband, it falls off before the game is over," Aynes said.
Needless to say, Wiatt and Aynes aren't looking forward to the game next Friday when they and the rest of the team will where pink headbands to support breast cancer awareness.
The hair-restraining products shouldn't be an issue at all, but the pesky Indiana High School Athletic Association requires everyone's uniform to be ... uniform.
Headgear has to match the color of the uniform, and everyone has to be the same. If one player wears blue, so does everyone else.
For this reason alone, pre-wrap is a more sensible solution.
A three-dollar roll can last all season long -- more if the player uses the knotted strip for multiple games and practices. Most don't, but some do.
Players can pass the roll around in the locker room before games and get their hair taken care of quickly.
The problem is that what works for one doesn't work for everyone else.
Pre-wrap can be hairsprayed to stay in place, though not everyone sprays her hair.
Different types of hair require different solutions.
"Normally I wear pre-wraps because they stay in better," NPHS freshman Taylor Nauert said. "If a headband has the grippy stuff it will stay in better."
Wide, elastic headbands work well for curly hair, but for others neither a headband nor pre-wrap will get the job done.
"The Nike (sweatbands) are the only thing that will stay in my hair," NPHS sophomore Brooke Smith said. "Pre-wrap, headbands, nothing else will stay."
Regardless of the technique, every girl has a system that works for her, though it can change over time.
NPHS JV coach Laura Blaydes wore a sweatband for every game in high school, then switched to pre-wrap when she played at IUPUI.
"When I played at IUPUI I wore pre-wrap every game," Blaydes said. "All of my teammates wore pre-wrap."
Aside from the economic difference, pre-wrap has another advantage to headbands; it's versatility.
Worn wide, pre-wrap can help snag loose bangs. Twisted together tightly, it holds everything with minimal attention.
A few extra years of experience has given Blaydes, a 2011 graduate of IUPUI, a chance to pick up a few extra pre-wrap tips.
"I double-layered it so it doesn't break," she said, mimicking stretching out pre-wrap and folding it overtop of itself before tying it.
The techniques are passed down from one class to the next; seniors sharing secrets with freshman.
Growing in popularity, pre-wrap has become more accessible in recent years.
Just a couple years ago Blaydes had to buy plain white on the Internet by going to what she called "middle-school websites."
Now, pre-wrap comes in a variety of colors and designs and is available at niche clothing and accessory stores.
There are other solutions, or combinations, that are out there for long-haired basketball players.
Several of the girls, speaking on the condition of anonymity, also said a deliberately placed bobby pin can help do the trick, but be careful.
"You're not allowed to wear bobby pins," one girl said.
"You have to hide them under your hair and pre-wrap is good for that," said another.
Whatever the product, when the game is on, function takes precedent over fashion. Like ill-fitting undergarments that require constant adjustment, hair can be a distraction during games.
Bangs can slip out and block vision. Tangles can bunch up and become uncomfortable. Anything it takes for an athlete to keep her hair in position and keep her focus on the game is what she'll do.
When it comes to pre-wrap versus headbands, the only winning side is the side that works.
Morgan Smith demonstrates her technique for tying pre-wrap for each game. Smith often prefers holding her hair back with headbands in social situations, but pre-wrap when it's time to compete. Pre-wrap is inexpensive and takes only a few seconds to custom-fit for each person by tying a single knot.
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN)
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN)
1) By request, interviews with Cloverdale players and coaches have not been included.
2) Please don't take this story too seriously.
© Copyright 2013 Greencastle Banner-Graphic. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Tiger women chew up Big Red
DePauw senior Ellie Pearson deflects a pass from Denison sophomore Mary Margaret Habel. Pearson had four steals and eight rebounds in the win.
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(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
But after an 85-48 dismissal of visiting Denison on Wednesday, it's becoming pretty clear that the only team that will challenge DePauw until the postseason is itself.
"I guess I'd say we're kind of chasing at perfection in a sense," DPU coach Kris Huffman said. "And we'll never get there, so we really evaluate every possession and not the scoreboard so much.
"We know that any team left on the schedule can beat us, so we're trying to avoid that letdown."
The only chance the Big Red had on Wednesday came when the Tigers had all five starters off the floor, but even then Denison had to fight just to stay even.
When seniors Kate Walker and Ellie Pearson, junior Ali Ross and Alex Gasaway and sophomore Savannah Trees were on the court, it was no contest.
The Tigers played a complete game, forcing Denison into tough shots and turnovers on defense and then getting into the paint with efficiency on offense.
Game-highs went to Gasaway in points (18), Ross in assists (six) and Pearson in rebounds (eight).
DPU's only disadvantage against Denison, it's lack of height in the front court, was turned into a positive when the Tigers showed off their quickness and athleticism.
The hosts had a 34-23 rebounding advantage in the game, outscoring Denison 13-0 in second-chance points.
Huffman said she is trying to keep the team vigilant and focused on execution more than results, but when the results are there it's hard to worry about why.
The Tigers (16-0, 7-0 NCAC) play at Oberlin (7-8, 2-4) Saturday at 1 p.m.
Huffman warned the team not to overlook its opponent.
"We'll have a tough matchup at Oberlin with their offensive scheme. Sometimes it's not about records, it's how you match up with an opponent," Huffman said. "Sometimes their strengths are your weaknesses, and you never know where that's going to take you."
At DePauw
Denison 22 26 -- 48
DePauw 41 44 -- 85
Individual scoring
Denison (8-8, 3-4 NCAC): Habel 4-5 5-6 13, Nuzzo 4-13 2-2 11, Coggins 3-7 1-1 7, Parker 2-4 0-0 6, Love 2-6 0-0 4, Rogers 1-3 1-2 3, Staubach 1-2 0-0 2, Freundlich 1-1 0-0 2, Arter 0-0 0-0 0, Lindquist 0-0 0-0 0, Byrne 0-1 0-0 0, Bryant-Lees 0-0 0-0 0.
DePauw (16-0, 7-0): Gasaway 8-14 1-3 18, Stephens 4-7 2-2 11, Pearson 5-9 0-0 10, Trees 3-7 3-3 9, Walker 4-6 0-0 8, Ross 3-5 0-0 8, Ondik 2-3 0-0 6, Abendroth 2-4 0-0 5, Molloy 2-7 0-0 5, Keller 1-1 0-0 2, Frost 1-1 0-0 2, Stoner 0-0 1-2 1, Francis 0-0 0-0 0, Skordos 0-0 0-0 0, McDonagh 0-0 0-0 0, Hacker 0-0 0-0 0, Lukemeyer 0-1 0-0 0, McGinnis 0-0 0-0 0.
Team scoring (three-pointers)
DEN 18-42 (3-13) 9-11 48, DPU 35-65 (8-16) 7-10 85.
Rebounds (Offensive)
DEN 23 (5), DPU 34 (14).
Turnovers
DEN 23, DPU 10.
Halftime cures what ails DPU in men's win versus Denison
DePauw junior Jeff Sustarsic blocks Denison junior Alex Longi as he goes in for a layup in the game on Wednesday.
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(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN)[Order this photo]
DPU senior Barry Flynn finished with a game-high 23 points on only 11 field goal attempts.
The Tigers found their rhythm from beyond the arc, making 9-of-20 three-pointers in the game.
"That's a real strength of ours," DPU coach Bill Fenlon said. "But we didn't really shoot them that well early, and I thought we shot them too early in the possession in the first half, and it led to some transition baskets for (Denison). The game didn't really have a good feel to it because we we're extending them defensively."
The Tigers led 32-29 at the break, then allowed a quick game-tying three and continued to force their shots early in the shot clock.
"(The shots) come inside-out," Fenlon said. "They come off penetration, and you're just a little more opening because you've extended (the defenders) a little bit. You've run them around."
DPU got it together with Flynn leading the way. He was five-of-five in the second half.
The Big Red lost their focus and the Tigers stretched the lead to six.
Four minutes into the second half Denison coach Bob Ghiloni pulled all five players on the court, platooning a group with instructions.
"You know why you're going in," Ghiloni told his players. "Pick it up."
On the subsequent possession Denison junior D.J. Bridges went straight to the rim with a breakaway dunk.
But energy can only get a team so far against a team executing like DPU did in the second half.
Another hoop from Flynn, this one from the top of the key, extended the lead and forced a Denison timeout.
That didn't help either.
The Tigers continued their run, stretching the lead to as much as 13 on multiple occasions.
After closing the gap to five with 3:23 left in the game, Denison watched DPU sophomore Connor Rich pull up for a ridiculous 30-foot three-point attempt that rattled through with 10 seconds left on the shot clock.
Rich finished with 13 points and three three-pointers.
DPU (10-6, 3-4 NCAC) will travel to Oberlin on Saturday, hoping to carry the rhythm of shooting and defense it showed against Denison (4-12, 2-5).
"I thought we had some stretches where we were really good defensively," Fenlon said. "(We had) just less mistakes. That's what (Denison) is trying to get you to do. They're setting a zillion screens and trying to get you to screw it up.
"We screwed it up a little bit less in the second half. "
At DePauw Denison | 29 36 -- 65 DePauw | 32 47 -- 79 |
Denison (4-12, 2-5 NCAC): Barnes 8-13 4-5 21, Longi 6-12 3-7 15 Akpapunam 4-10 2-2 11, King 3-6 0-0 6, Weingart 1-4 0-0 3, White 1-4 0-0 3, Bre. Woolard 1-2 0-0 2, Bra. Woolard 1-2 0-0 2, Bridges 1-3 0-0 2, White 0-3 0-0 0, Keller 0-0 0-0 0.
DePauw (10-6, 3-4 NCAC): Flynn 9-11 5-9 23, Wilkison 4-10 4-4 16, Rich 4-8 2-2 13, Botts 2-6 4-4 10, Payne 4-4 0-2 8, Haggin 1-2 1-2 3, Sustarsic 1-3 0-0 2, Johnson 0-1 2-4 2, Burns 1-2 0-0 2, Fernitz 0-0 0-0 0, Patton 0-0 0-0 0.
Team scoring (three-pointers)
DEN 26-59 (4-17) 9-14 65, DPU 26-47 (9-20) 18-27 79.
Rebounds (offensive)
DEN 29 (8), DPU 29 (4).
Turnovers
DEN 12, DPU 9.
Cougars hang with Mounties until late in 60-48 loss
North Putnam senior Jameson Brewer lines up for a shot from the block over Southmont defender Zach Dinius in the first quarter. Brewer finished with 22 points in the 60-48 loss on Tuesday.
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(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
Offense comes through some nights, defense others, and on Tuesday against Southmont, the Cougars got everything going at the same time.
For the first three quarters.
The host Mounties put together a run early in the fourth quarter to extend a close lead and seal their 60-48 win.
"It was a tale of a three-minute stretch," NPHS coach Nathan Martindale said. "Defensively, that was the best half of basketball that we've played in the first half. Offensively, it was the same thing."
Southmont (8-1, 2-1 Sagamore Conference) entered as a clear favorite, but North Putnam, and senior Jameson Brewer, refused to back down.
Brewer had 12 of his team's 22 points in an efficient first half, but the three-headed backcourt of Southmont (seniors Drake Cooksey and Cody Thomas, junior Devon Burton) scored all of the Mounties' 23.
The teams played slow, high-percentage basketball throughout, making skill less important than luck, and Southmont seemed to have all the luck.
In one stretch early in the third quarter, missed Mounties' shots rolled out of bounds three straight time but the offense retained possession each time.
Brewer versus the Southmont backcourt remained the theme.
Cooksey, Thomas and Burton had 15 in the third, Brewer had 10.
"Once we get some guys that are normally good shooters to start getting hot and add that to our inside game, we'll be fine," Martindale said. "We're fine in what we're doing. Our guys are locked-in to our gameplan. We're going to eventually come around on the offensive side of the basketball. There's no doubt about it."
The solid backcourt play by the Mounties finally wore the Cougars down.
Their 11-point run to start the fourth quarter slammed the upset-door shut.
"Burton got a couple open looks," Martindale said. "We came down and missed a couple shots, and they were able to expand the lead.
"If we sure that up, we're right there in the end and it's going to be a one-possession ball game. We just lacked (during) that short, short spurt there were we needed to take care of some things and didn't."
Brewer finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds.
Burton led Southmont with 22 points of his own and added five assists.
It may not have been a moral victory for the Cougars, but the loss won't defeat their morale.
"We've got to understand that we cannot take any plays off," Martindale said. "As the season goes on, you've just got to extend your good play. At the beginning of the year, you're not going to have long stretches of good play."
NPHS (2-10, 0-2 WCC) will return Friday with a game at Cloverdale.
The Cougars came out on top in the Putnam County Classic, 66-41.
North Putnam junior Bennett Hazelgrove scores his only points of the game, a layup in the second quarter.
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
At Southmont
North Putnam 10 22 16 10 -- 48
Southmont 14 9 17 20 -- 60
Individual scoring
North Putnam: Brewer 10-22 0-1 22, Beaman 3-4 0-0 7, Nauert 2-7 3-3 7, Gren 3-8 0-0 6, Hazelgrove 1-2 0-4 2, Haste 1-4 0-0 2, Flynn 0-1 0-0 0, Roberts 0-0 0-0 0.
Southmont: Burton 8-13 2-3 22, Thomas 6-13 1-2 17, Cooksey 6-11 2-3 15, Dinius 1-3 1-2 3, Whalen 0-0 2-2 2, Stewart 0-1 0-0 0, Dehne 0-0 0-0 0.
Team scoring (three-pointers)
North Putnam 20-48 (5-17) 3-8 48, Southmont 21-43 (9-21) 9-14 60.
Rebounds (offensive)
North Putnam 24 (4), Southmont 31 (8).
Turnovers
North Putnam 9, Southmont 11.
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