North Putnam board unveils new redistricting plan
Friday, November 30, 2012
BAINBRIDGE -- Facing a lawsuit, the North Putnam School Board was given a Nov. 30 deadline to produce a plan for corporation-wide voter redistricting.
That plan was presented and approved at a special board meeting on Thursday.
Beginning with the 2014 election, the North Putnam board will be composed of two at-large members and five district representatives.
These new districts will no longer be divided exclusively by townships, but instead will be combinations of existing election voting precincts.
The districts will be divided as follows:
* Russell precinct and Clinton precinct will combine and have one seat on the board.
* Franklin North will combine with Jackson and have one seat.
* Franklin South will combine with Monroe (East and West) and have one seat.
* Floyd South will combine with Floyd West and have one seat.
* Floyd East will have one seat.
The two other seats will be elected by at-large voters, however, they are "restricted."
The Restricted East member will reside in either Jackson or Floyd Township, but be voted on in the entire corporation.
The Restricted West member will reside in Monroe, Clinton, Russell or Franklin Township, but be voted on in the entire corporation.
In order roll out the new plan, all of the existing terms will now end on Dec. 31, 2014, with the exception of the current at-large seat.
The board could potentially have six new board members begin terms on Jan. 1, 2015.
The current at-large seat, held by Mark Hoke, will convert to the Restricted West seat and runs from Jan. 1, 2014 until Dec. 31, 2017.
Other seats that were elected to four-year terms this past election -- Russell, Monroe and Franklin -- have now been changed to two-year terms.
"Our board has worked very, very hard on a recommendation," North Putnam Superintendent Dan Noel said. "I think it's a good plan for everybody, and it really gets us equal representation for everybody."
In October, North Putnam was sued by the American Civil Liberties Union and a voter in Floyd Township for failing to provide equal representation and voting power to everyone in the corporation.
Noel said the new districts will have (according to 2010 census data) populations of 2,098, 2,095, 2,018, 2,170 and 1,841.
The smallest of these, Floyd East, is the fastest growing district in the corporation.
The new districts are also now within 3.2 percent of each other, considerably closer than the 31.2 percent margin in the previous system.
Late shot falls short for Eagles
Thursday, November 29, 2012
South Putnam senior Brooke Cundiff (left) steals the ball from Danville junior Haley Lynch in the game on Wednesday night. The Eagles dropped to 3-3 for the season with the loss.
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
Trailing by three with the clock ticking down in the fourth quarter, the South Putnam girls' basketball team swung the ball around the perimeter looking for an open shot.
Senior Brittany Birt was left partially open and gunned up her first three-point attempt of the game.
The shot came up short and the Eagles lost to the Danville Warriors, 53-50.
The Eagles were stymied by Danville's full-court press in the first quarter. Though SPHS had a significant height advantage, the Warriors quickness seemed to frustrate the home team.
SPHS turned the ball over 11 times in the quarter and trailed 17-9.
"We got overwhelmed with their pressure and we looked intimidated to even try to bring the ball up the court," Blackman said. "The plan was to beat (the press) and avoid the sideline. We didn't quite carry that through, and that's something we need to work on in practice."
South Putnam senior Mallory Cash (21) skies over Danville defenders Meghan Gerdts (10) and Whitney Taylor.
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
Senior Mallory Cash had seven of her 16 points in the quarter, making two three-pointers to keep the Eagles within striking distance.
SPHS picked up the tempo in the second quarter, inserting senior Brooke Cundiff in the lineup.
The Eagles went on an 18-8 run in the quarter to take a one-point lead into halftime.
"Sometimes through the course of a game you figure out that it's kind of what you need to do," Blackman said. "Tonight we had a matchup defensively. They were quicker team than we were if we played with our two posts, so we went with a four guard, one post lineup to try to be able to match up with them defensively."
The higher tempo continued in the third quarter, but the Eagles' troubles with the press returned.
Nine more turnovers in the period caught up to South Putnam, and they trailed by three entering the fourth.
Were it not for the significant advantage in rebounding and second chance points, the deficit could have been much worse.
SPHS senior Leanna Masters had game highs with 20 points (on 11 shots) and 15 rebounds, dominating the Warriors for stretches.
She also finished the game eight-of-eight from the free throw line.
"We knew going into it that we outsized them," Blackman said. "The goal that we talked about all week in practice was utilizing our advantage of Leanna in the post and making a concerted effort to get it in to her."
The Eagles opened the fourth with two quick buckets to retake the lead, but a three by Danville junior Chelsea Gould quickly ended the would-be run.
Danville controlled the pace and led by three with less than 30 seconds remaining.
The Eagles wrapped up Danville sophomore Allie Lake, who calmly sank both free throws.
Needing five points, Birt drove straight to the rim. She made a lay-up from the left side, and got fouled in the process.
Fifteen seconds remained, Birt missed her free throw attempt, then managed to secure her own rebound.
Birt slipped in and locked in a shared possession.
The jump-ball arrow pointed back to SPHS and Blackman drew up her last-chance play.
"We were just going to stack it up and try to get Mallory (Cash) for a three," SPHS coach Lindsey Blackman said. "If she wasn't open, then we were going to get it to Brooke (Cundiff) on the wing and hopefully Mattie (Varvel) stepping in from the out of bounds line for a three pointer.
"It got reversed and we couldn't get it back to a shooter."
The Eagles are back in action on Tuesday, Dec. 4 at South Vermillion at 7:30 p.m.
At South Putnam
Danville -- 17 8 12 16 -- 53
South Putnam -- 9 18 7 16 --50
Individual Scoring
Danville: Gould 6-9 FG, 4-10 FT, 16 PT; Lake 5-17, 4-6, 15; Taylor 5-8, 1-1, 11; Gerdts 2-9, 2-8, 6; Newby 1-5, 1-2, 3; Lynch 1-4, 0-2, 2; Motter 0-3, 0-0, 0; Ford 0-1, 0-0, 0.
South Putnam: Masters 6-11, 8-8, 20; Cash 5-15, 2-5, 16; Varvel 3-11, 2-5, 8; Birt 2-4, 0-1, 4; Nichols 0-2, 2-2, 2; Cundiff 0-2, 0-2, 0; Whitaker 0-3, 0-0, 0; Barnes 0-1, 0-0, 0; York 0-0, 0-0, 0.
Team Scoring
Danville: 20-56, 9-24, 53.
South Putnam: 16-49, 14-23, 50.
Three-pointers
Danville: 4-13
South Putnam: 4-11
Turnovers
Danville: 19
South Putnam: 29
Rebounds
Danville: 30
South Putnam: 44
Cougars get rolled by Riverton Parke
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
North Putnam junior Madi Asbell finds a rare hole in the Riverton Parke defense to attempt an open layup. (Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN [Order this photo]
ROACHDALE -- The North Putnam girls' basketball team knew it had a tough test ahead when they prepared to face Riverton Parke.
Even if they're graded on a curve, Tuesday's game against the No. 2 rated 1A team in the state proved to be nearly impossible to pass.
The Cougars (1-6) lost 73-23, but continued to play with passion, something that has overcome several of the Panthers (6-1) previous opponents this year.
"(The Panthers) are a solid ball club," North Putnam head coach Curtis Lawrence said. "They're doing this to everybody they play this year."
NPHS fell behind 26-5 after the first quarter and attempted only four shots.
Riverton Parke's rebounding and quickness, at times, prevented the Cougars from even inbounding the ball or getting a shot attempt.
NPHS made gradual improvements in the second period, going three-of-eight from the field, but the half ended with them trailing 46-12.
Riverton Parke seniors Sara Dickey and Paige Yando each had 18 points at the break.
"We started out in a box-and-one against Dickey; we had to switch to man-to-man when they started pulling the ball out," Lawrence said. "She's a nice player. She's going to Evansville next year to play."
Though they couldn't narrow the gap, the Cougars aggressiveness frustrated the Panthers in the second half.
Cayla Kientz's defense on Dickey slowed her down, and the switch to man-to-man defense prevented the open outside shots that the Cougars were getting in the first half.
NPHS drew seven fouls in the third period, mostly out of frustration by Riverton Parke.
"Did we play 32 minutes of solid defense? No," Lawrence said. "Did we do enough things offensively to win? No.
"But those things are going to come. You get better playing good teams, and Riverton Parke is a very good ball club."
The effort fell short, but NPHS isn't the only school to succumb to Riverton Parke.
Tuesday the fourth time in seven games the Panthers have won by at least 40 points.
Yando finished with a game-high 26. Dickey had 24.
The Cougars were led in scoring by junior Madi Asbell's nine, followed by junior Bethany Wiatt's six.
Senior Sam Lucas led the Cougars with seven rebounds.
At North Putnam
Riverton Parke -- 26 20 15 12 -- 73
North Putnam -- 5 7 7 6 -- 25
Individual scoring
Riverton Parke: Yando 10-20 FG, 5-9 FT, 26; Dickey 11-22, 0-2, 24; S. Virostko 4-11, 0-0, 8; Austin 3-5, 0-0, 6; Pollard 2-7, 0-0, 5; E. Virostko 1-4, 0-0, 2; Benell 1-2, 0-0, 0; Combs 0-2, 0-0, 0; Wood 0-1, 0-0, 0.
North Putnam: Asbell 3-7, 2-5, 9; Wiatt 3-8, 0-1, 6; Lucas 1-4, 3-6, 5; Land 2-3, 0-0, 4; Smith 0-5, 1-2, 1; Kientz 0-2, 0-1, 0; Heron 0-6, 0-0, 0; Nauert 0-0, 0-0, 0; Pitcock 0-0, 0-0, 0.
Team scoring
Riverton Parke: 32-73, 5-11, 73
North Putnam: 8-27, 6-16, 25
Dorman's last-second follow gives Cloverdale boys first win
Saturday, November 24, 2012
Cloverdale junior Brandon Dorman (23) drives to the basket for a layup. His tip-in as time expired against Riverton Parke gave the team its first win of the season.
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
MONTEZUMA -- Junior guard Brandon Dorman's tipped-in layup as time expired allowed the Cloverdale boys' basketball team to survive a fervid final two minutes and beat Riverton Parke on Saturday, 45-44.
Dorman's shot came after junior forward Kedrick Collet raced the length of the court in under four seconds, got all the way to the basket and had his game-winning attempt rattle out.
In one motion, Dorman grabbed the rebound and put his shot up.
"When you win a one-point ball game, every kid has done something that we wouldn't have won if he hadn't done it," CHS head coach Pat Rady said. "It's a team win."
With a first half that saw the Clovers make only six-of-20 shots (30 percent), they were lucky to even be in position to get the win.
"I think the shooting will come," Rady said. "Maybe the shot selection, at times, might be a factor. But some of it is just good, hard practice; coming in and putting a lot of shots up in the morning or staying after practice. Shooting is just muscle memory and reflex."
It took more than four minutes for CHS to get on the board -- a three-point basket from junior Kade Schroer ending the drought -- and the team scored just five points in the opening period.
Schroer had a team-high 12 points (four-of-seven threes).
Although the offense failed to show up in the first half, solid defense was constant throughout.
Cloverdale mixed in a 2-3 zone to compliment its 1-2-2, which helped the team use its length and versatility as an advantage.
"We worked on defense the two days that we had (of practice since Tuesday's game)," Rady said. "We put that (2-3 zone) in after the game against North Central.
"We're still learning. We've got a lot of things to learn and we've got to have patience."
CHS trailed at halftime, 18-14, but found its offensive rhythm early in the third quarter.
The Clovers sank their first three shots and finished the period seven-of-11 from the field, taking a 31-27 lead into the fourth.
The Panthers used a drive-and-kick attack and retook the lead, 39-38, on a jump shot by senior Brendon Bovair with 1:40 left.
Cloverdale answered on the next trip as Schroer sank his fourth three of the game to retake the lead.
Bovair, who finished with 16 points, then ran to the left corner and sank another three with less than a minute left.
Cloverdale sophomore Brantson Scott (32) draws a foul from Riverton Parke sophomore Tanner Edge late in their game on Saturday. Scott made both free throws to give the Clovers the lead in the final minute.
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
With the lead, the Panthers called a timeout to set their defense, but Cloverdale got the ball inside to sophomore center Brantson Scott. He drew a foul and went to the line.
Riverton Parke called another timeout to set up its final play.
Scott sank both free throws, giving his team a 43-42 lead with 43 seconds left.
The Panthers inbounded, advanced the ball then worked the clock to under 10 seconds. Senior Matt Haltom, who finished with a game-high 20 points, sank a contested 15-foot jumper from the top of the key.
Sans timeout, Cloverdale inbounded the ball with seven seconds remaining on the ticking clock.
Collet raced the length of the court, and Dorman's follow gave his team the lead.
"I'm not a big believer in calling timeout because I think the defense has a chance to set up," Rady said. "(Collet's) instincts were to take it to the basket and we had a great kid that followed. I'm a great believer of, when you're only down one, you take the ball to the hole."
The hands-off approach worked, giving the Clovers their first win and momentum going into Friday's Putnam County Classic.
"I wasn't really getting after the kids tonight," Rady said. "I wanted the kids to play hard, play smart, hustle and smile."
At Riverton Parke
Cloverdale -- 5 9 17 14 -- 45
Riverton Parke -- 8 10 9 17 -- 44
Individual Scoring
Cloverdale: Schroer 4-9 FG, 0-0 FT, 12; Cummings 4-7, 3-3, 11; Scott 3-5, 2-2, 8; Dorman 3-11, 0-0, 6; Collet 2-9, 0-0, 4; Cupp 2-3, 0-1, 4; Hughes 0-1, 0-0, 0.
Riverton Parke: Haltom 6-16, 5-6, 20; Bovair 6-16, 1-2, 16; Mathas 1-4, 2-3, 5; Sanders 1-6, 0-0, 2; Organ 1-4, 0-0, 2; Edge 0-4, 0-0, 0; Falls 0-1, 0-0, 0.
Team scoring
Cloverdale: 18-45, 5-6, 45.
Riverton Parke: 15-50, 7-10, 44.
Three-point shooting
Cloverdale 4-13, Riverton Parke 7-21
Turnovers
Cloverdale 14, Riverton Parke 12
Rebounds
Cloverdale 21, Riverton Parke 22
Current Eagles infielder signs to join Miami U. Red Hawks
Saturday, November 24, 2012
South Putnam senior Jenna Jones (front, center) signs her national letter of intent to join the Miami University Redhawks softball team for the 2014 season. She is joined by (front, from left) her sister Jessica Jones, mother Anita Jones, (back, from left) assistant coach Lindsey Blackman, father Jason Jones and head coach Chris Jones.
(Courtesy photo)
The success of the South Putnam softball team in recent years has manifested itself not just on the field (back-to-back state championships), but also in its players future.
SPHS senior Jenna Jones, an infielder for the Eagles, recently signed her letter of intent to play softball at Miami University.
"It was between Ball State and Miami," Jones said of her choice between the two Mid-American Conference rivals. "When I saw the (Miami campus), I fell in love with it.
"(The coaches) said, 'Come for a visit.' They made me an offer. In learning about the school, I fell in love with it. The coaches that were there, I fell in love with."
Jones' recruitment wasn't typical.
She never contacted the school, as she had other places.
"It all happened within a month," Jones said. "I went and played a game there, they saw me -- liked me -- and watched me again.
"I went to a camp, they watched me at one more tournament. It was all within four weeks."
Jones went on her official visit this summer, received a scholarship offer from the coaches, and two days later made her decision. It was Miami.
Then the coaches that recruited her left.
The school agreed to honor her scholarship offer, but the other 2013 recruits decommitted. Jones had a school but no coach.
"It was me waiting. 'Who is this new coach going to be? I hope she likes me,'" Jones said. "I think everything happens for a reason. I'm a big believer in that. So when my coaches left, I was like, 'OK, this happened for a reason. I just have to wait and see what it is.'"
In August the Red Hawks hired Clarisa Crowell, an assistant at Oklahoma State, to be the new head coach.
"The first time I talked to Coach C., we talked for like an hour and a half on the phone," Jones said. "After I talked to coach C. and after I met her, I knew that's why (I waited)."
Jones said she is focused on working hard now so she can do everything she can to put herself in position to play as a freshman at Miami.
She hit .395 last year with five home runs, and will look to improve on that as she takes on a leadership role with the Eagles this spring.
Jones plans to major in sports, leadership and management (SLAM) while playing for the Red Hawks, and hopes to become a graduate assistant while she attends law school after her playing career ends.
Filtration project now under way at Russellville
Saturday, November 24, 2012
RUSSELLVILLE -- The water filtration project is under way in Russellville, and the town council reported this week that the exterior of the building is already nearly complete.
The system is expected to be operational by the end of the year.
"Hopefully you'll see a big change in the water quality," council president Don Reddish said. "Hopefully not too much change in taste. We've always had good tasting water."
The previous filtration system, which was several decades old, broke early this year, which the Reddish said has led to imbalanced chlorination.
The town received a loan recently and accepted a bid from Spear Corp. for $106,710 last month to start the project.
The council also discussed a number of other issues in town.
Discussion centered on the collapsed building entering Russellville.
Attorney Jim Ensley said he believes it is realistic to see progress before 2013.
Streetlights that have been turning on and off were discussed again. In several previous meetings this year, and clerk-treasurer DeVon Davis said she would again call Duke Energy -- something she has done twice previously.
Other improvements in town have come from more positive circumstances.
Ali Elmore, a student at North Putnam Middle School student, recently won $150 in anessay contest and pledged to donate it to the town so it could be used for new basketball goals in the park.
"You've done a great job and everyone in Russellville is very proud of you," Reddish told her. "We'll get going as soon as possible."
In other business:
* The council set holiday hours for the town office. The office was closed on Thanksgiving and Nov. 22, and will be closed on Dec. 24-26 and Dec. 31-Jan. 2.
* A North Putnam bus driver has been having issues with trees hanging over the roadway on her route, but Reddish said he believes a changed route will correct the problem.
North Putnam High School unveils A grade to students
Friday, November 23, 2012
North Putnam High School students (from left) sophomore Michael Roberts, junior Sam Brock,freshman senior Nick Bishop and Morgan Robinson learn the importance of working together by searching the court blindfolded. The school held an assembly Tuesday to celebrate everyone's contribution to the IDOE-issued A grade.
ROACHDALE -- The Cougar administrators take pride in their school, so when North Putnam High School assistant principal Jason Chew heard his building received an A grade from the Indiana Department of Education, he decided it would be a good idea to share his joy with the students.
On Tuesday the school held an assembly where Chew commended the students and faculty for its hard work during the past year.
"When you apply for college, they may ask, 'What is your school's letter grade, and how does that reflect on you?'" Chew said to the students.
Grades are measured using four sets of criteria, he explained: math standardized test scores, English scores, graduation rate and college readiness.
The A grade was the highest in the school corporation this year.
Chew had the student body president, senior Katie Welch, and history teacher Tom Roach unveil the grade, and Chew said the A would be posted in the front of the building.
Tiger Cubs lose opener to Crawfordsville
Thursday, November 22, 2012
GHS senior Nick Gilliam takes a charge from Crawfordsville's Chandler Pursell. The Tiger Cubs took three offensive fouls as a team, but it wasn't enough as they lost the 2012-13 season opener, 66-54.(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
CRAWFORDSVILLE -- With only three upper classmen on the roster, the Greencastle boys' basketball team is ready to experience some growing pains.
Those showed in the season opener at Crawfordsville, as the Tiger Cubs lost 66-54.
Senior Nick Gilliam led the team in scoring with 16 points.
"This is the first time this group has played together," GHS head coach Troy Greenlee said. "I was very pleased with how our kids fought. I thought they fought the whole game. We got down a couple times in the first half, but we didn't give in."
The Athenians held a 9-2 lead midway through the first quarter, but Greencastle battled back.
Gilliam had nine in the quarter, making four-of-four free throws and staying active on both ends.
The team's defense stayed strong but Crawfordsville used a sporadic half court trap that flustered Greencastle's young guards.
The Tiger Cubs turned the ball over six times in the quarter, with many leading to easy buckets, and, in one case, an intentional foul call on a made layup.
Crawfordsville senior Chandler Pursell took a steal coast-to-coast then dropped in a layup as he absorbed a hard foul from GHS senior Nate Christy.
"It's hard to simulate that (trapping defense) in practice," Greenlee said. "I think maybe there are some things we can do X- and O-wise, or maybe personnel-wise, but it's just a matter of getting that experience."
Though they are leaders on the court, Greencastle's upperclassmen -- Gilliam, Christy and junior Holden King -- are not primary ball handlers or distributers for the offense.
Instead the team relies on a group of sophomores to handle the job, and their performance was inconsistent.
Athenian senior Jordan Jackson took the point defensively and came away with seven steals in the game. He also had a team-high 13 points.
Hot shooting by the Tiger Cubs (five-of-eight field goals) got the team back in the game in the second quarter.
King hit back-to-back threes late in the period to tie the game, and Greencastle trailed by only one at the half, 28-27.
Foul trouble soon caught up with both teams and each was in the bonus by the end of the third period.
Greencastle made only six-of-18 in the half, and Crawfordsville 16-25.
That free throw disparity was too much for the youthful Tiger Cubs to overcome and the game drifted away.
"I thought that was the difference in the game," Greenlee said. "We put them to the line way too much and they seemed to hit everything. We just didn't hit the shots at the line like we should have."
Sophomores Lane Winslow (eight points, five rebounds, two steals) and Calvin Hughes (seven points, three rebounds, one assist, one steal) showed flashes as playmakers off the bench, which GHS will need going forward.
The Tiger Cubs return to action next Friday when they host the County Classic.
At Crawfordsville
Greencastle -- 10 17 12 15 -- 54
Crawfordsville -- 15 13 17 21 -- 66
Individual scoring
Greencastle: Gilliam 7-13 FT, 4-8 FG, 16 TP; King 6-8, 3-6, 15; Winslow 2-5, 3-7, 8; Hughes 0-0, 3-7, 7; Mitchell 0-1, 1-2, 3; Bollman 0-0, 1-2, 2; Gerard 0-2, 1-1, 2; Christy 1-2, 0-3, 1; Foxx 0-0, 0-1, 0; Coble 0-0, 0-0, 0.
Crawfordsville -- Jackson 3-7, 4-10, 13; Pursell 5-6, 3-7, 12; Horner 1-2, 5-6, 12; Page 5-6, 3-7, 11; Conrad 5-6, 1-3, 7; Kidd 1-2, 2-3, 5; Turpin 0-0, 0-1, 0; Schafer 0-0, 0-0, 0; Miller 0-0, 0-0, 0.
Three pointers
Greencastle 6-12, Crawfordsville 3-13
Fouls
Greencastle 23, Crawfordsville 23
Turnovers
Greencastle 24, Crawfordsville 17
North Putnam board unveils new redistricting plan
Friday, November 30, 2012
BAINBRIDGE -- Facing a lawsuit, the North Putnam School Board was given a Nov. 30 deadline to produce a plan for corporation-wide voter redistricting.
That plan was presented and approved at a special board meeting on Thursday.
Beginning with the 2014 election, the North Putnam board will be composed of two at-large members and five district representatives.
These new districts will no longer be divided exclusively by townships, but instead will be combinations of existing election voting precincts.
The districts will be divided as follows:
* Russell precinct and Clinton precinct will combine and have one seat on the board.
* Franklin North will combine with Jackson and have one seat.
* Franklin South will combine with Monroe (East and West) and have one seat.
* Floyd South will combine with Floyd West and have one seat.
* Floyd East will have one seat.
The two other seats will be elected by at-large voters, however, they are "restricted."
The Restricted East member will reside in either Jackson or Floyd Township, but be voted on in the entire corporation.
The Restricted West member will reside in Monroe, Clinton, Russell or Franklin Township, but be voted on in the entire corporation.
In order roll out the new plan, all of the existing terms will now end on Dec. 31, 2014, with the exception of the current at-large seat.
The board could potentially have six new board members begin terms on Jan. 1, 2015.
The current at-large seat, held by Mark Hoke, will convert to the Restricted West seat and runs from Jan. 1, 2014 until Dec. 31, 2017.
Other seats that were elected to four-year terms this past election -- Russell, Monroe and Franklin -- have now been changed to two-year terms.
"Our board has worked very, very hard on a recommendation," North Putnam Superintendent Dan Noel said. "I think it's a good plan for everybody, and it really gets us equal representation for everybody."
In October, North Putnam was sued by the American Civil Liberties Union and a voter in Floyd Township for failing to provide equal representation and voting power to everyone in the corporation.
Noel said the new districts will have (according to 2010 census data) populations of 2,098, 2,095, 2,018, 2,170 and 1,841.
The smallest of these, Floyd East, is the fastest growing district in the corporation.
The new districts are also now within 3.2 percent of each other, considerably closer than the 31.2 percent margin in the previous system.
Late shot falls short for Eagles
Thursday, November 29, 2012
South Putnam senior Brooke Cundiff (left) steals the ball from Danville junior Haley Lynch in the game on Wednesday night. The Eagles dropped to 3-3 for the season with the loss.
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
Trailing by three with the clock ticking down in the fourth quarter, the South Putnam girls' basketball team swung the ball around the perimeter looking for an open shot.
Senior Brittany Birt was left partially open and gunned up her first three-point attempt of the game.
The shot came up short and the Eagles lost to the Danville Warriors, 53-50.
The Eagles were stymied by Danville's full-court press in the first quarter. Though SPHS had a significant height advantage, the Warriors quickness seemed to frustrate the home team.
SPHS turned the ball over 11 times in the quarter and trailed 17-9.
"We got overwhelmed with their pressure and we looked intimidated to even try to bring the ball up the court," Blackman said. "The plan was to beat (the press) and avoid the sideline. We didn't quite carry that through, and that's something we need to work on in practice."
South Putnam senior Mallory Cash (21) skies over Danville defenders Meghan Gerdts (10) and Whitney Taylor.
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
Senior Mallory Cash had seven of her 16 points in the quarter, making two three-pointers to keep the Eagles within striking distance.
SPHS picked up the tempo in the second quarter, inserting senior Brooke Cundiff in the lineup.
The Eagles went on an 18-8 run in the quarter to take a one-point lead into halftime.
"Sometimes through the course of a game you figure out that it's kind of what you need to do," Blackman said. "Tonight we had a matchup defensively. They were quicker team than we were if we played with our two posts, so we went with a four guard, one post lineup to try to be able to match up with them defensively."
The higher tempo continued in the third quarter, but the Eagles' troubles with the press returned.
Nine more turnovers in the period caught up to South Putnam, and they trailed by three entering the fourth.
Were it not for the significant advantage in rebounding and second chance points, the deficit could have been much worse.
SPHS senior Leanna Masters had game highs with 20 points (on 11 shots) and 15 rebounds, dominating the Warriors for stretches.
She also finished the game eight-of-eight from the free throw line.
"We knew going into it that we outsized them," Blackman said. "The goal that we talked about all week in practice was utilizing our advantage of Leanna in the post and making a concerted effort to get it in to her."
The Eagles opened the fourth with two quick buckets to retake the lead, but a three by Danville junior Chelsea Gould quickly ended the would-be run.
Danville controlled the pace and led by three with less than 30 seconds remaining.
The Eagles wrapped up Danville sophomore Allie Lake, who calmly sank both free throws.
Needing five points, Birt drove straight to the rim. She made a lay-up from the left side, and got fouled in the process.
Fifteen seconds remained, Birt missed her free throw attempt, then managed to secure her own rebound.
Birt slipped in and locked in a shared possession.
The jump-ball arrow pointed back to SPHS and Blackman drew up her last-chance play.
"We were just going to stack it up and try to get Mallory (Cash) for a three," SPHS coach Lindsey Blackman said. "If she wasn't open, then we were going to get it to Brooke (Cundiff) on the wing and hopefully Mattie (Varvel) stepping in from the out of bounds line for a three pointer.
"It got reversed and we couldn't get it back to a shooter."
The Eagles are back in action on Tuesday, Dec. 4 at South Vermillion at 7:30 p.m.
At South Putnam
Danville -- 17 8 12 16 -- 53
South Putnam -- 9 18 7 16 --50
Individual Scoring
Danville: Gould 6-9 FG, 4-10 FT, 16 PT; Lake 5-17, 4-6, 15; Taylor 5-8, 1-1, 11; Gerdts 2-9, 2-8, 6; Newby 1-5, 1-2, 3; Lynch 1-4, 0-2, 2; Motter 0-3, 0-0, 0; Ford 0-1, 0-0, 0.
South Putnam: Masters 6-11, 8-8, 20; Cash 5-15, 2-5, 16; Varvel 3-11, 2-5, 8; Birt 2-4, 0-1, 4; Nichols 0-2, 2-2, 2; Cundiff 0-2, 0-2, 0; Whitaker 0-3, 0-0, 0; Barnes 0-1, 0-0, 0; York 0-0, 0-0, 0.
Team Scoring
Danville: 20-56, 9-24, 53.
South Putnam: 16-49, 14-23, 50.
Three-pointers
Danville: 4-13
South Putnam: 4-11
Turnovers
Danville: 19
South Putnam: 29
Rebounds
Danville: 30
South Putnam: 44
Cougars get rolled by Riverton Parke
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
North Putnam junior Madi Asbell finds a rare hole in the Riverton Parke defense to attempt an open layup. (Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN [Order this photo]
ROACHDALE -- The North Putnam girls' basketball team knew it had a tough test ahead when they prepared to face Riverton Parke.
Even if they're graded on a curve, Tuesday's game against the No. 2 rated 1A team in the state proved to be nearly impossible to pass.
The Cougars (1-6) lost 73-23, but continued to play with passion, something that has overcome several of the Panthers (6-1) previous opponents this year.
"(The Panthers) are a solid ball club," North Putnam head coach Curtis Lawrence said. "They're doing this to everybody they play this year."
NPHS fell behind 26-5 after the first quarter and attempted only four shots.
Riverton Parke's rebounding and quickness, at times, prevented the Cougars from even inbounding the ball or getting a shot attempt.
NPHS made gradual improvements in the second period, going three-of-eight from the field, but the half ended with them trailing 46-12.
Riverton Parke seniors Sara Dickey and Paige Yando each had 18 points at the break.
"We started out in a box-and-one against Dickey; we had to switch to man-to-man when they started pulling the ball out," Lawrence said. "She's a nice player. She's going to Evansville next year to play."
Though they couldn't narrow the gap, the Cougars aggressiveness frustrated the Panthers in the second half.
Cayla Kientz's defense on Dickey slowed her down, and the switch to man-to-man defense prevented the open outside shots that the Cougars were getting in the first half.
NPHS drew seven fouls in the third period, mostly out of frustration by Riverton Parke.
"Did we play 32 minutes of solid defense? No," Lawrence said. "Did we do enough things offensively to win? No.
"But those things are going to come. You get better playing good teams, and Riverton Parke is a very good ball club."
The effort fell short, but NPHS isn't the only school to succumb to Riverton Parke.
Tuesday the fourth time in seven games the Panthers have won by at least 40 points.
Yando finished with a game-high 26. Dickey had 24.
The Cougars were led in scoring by junior Madi Asbell's nine, followed by junior Bethany Wiatt's six.
Senior Sam Lucas led the Cougars with seven rebounds.
At North Putnam
Riverton Parke -- 26 20 15 12 -- 73
North Putnam -- 5 7 7 6 -- 25
Individual scoring
Riverton Parke: Yando 10-20 FG, 5-9 FT, 26; Dickey 11-22, 0-2, 24; S. Virostko 4-11, 0-0, 8; Austin 3-5, 0-0, 6; Pollard 2-7, 0-0, 5; E. Virostko 1-4, 0-0, 2; Benell 1-2, 0-0, 0; Combs 0-2, 0-0, 0; Wood 0-1, 0-0, 0.
North Putnam: Asbell 3-7, 2-5, 9; Wiatt 3-8, 0-1, 6; Lucas 1-4, 3-6, 5; Land 2-3, 0-0, 4; Smith 0-5, 1-2, 1; Kientz 0-2, 0-1, 0; Heron 0-6, 0-0, 0; Nauert 0-0, 0-0, 0; Pitcock 0-0, 0-0, 0.
Team scoring
Riverton Parke: 32-73, 5-11, 73
North Putnam: 8-27, 6-16, 25
Dorman's last-second follow gives Cloverdale boys first win
Saturday, November 24, 2012
Cloverdale junior Brandon Dorman (23) drives to the basket for a layup. His tip-in as time expired against Riverton Parke gave the team its first win of the season.
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
MONTEZUMA -- Junior guard Brandon Dorman's tipped-in layup as time expired allowed the Cloverdale boys' basketball team to survive a fervid final two minutes and beat Riverton Parke on Saturday, 45-44.
Dorman's shot came after junior forward Kedrick Collet raced the length of the court in under four seconds, got all the way to the basket and had his game-winning attempt rattle out.
In one motion, Dorman grabbed the rebound and put his shot up.
"When you win a one-point ball game, every kid has done something that we wouldn't have won if he hadn't done it," CHS head coach Pat Rady said. "It's a team win."
With a first half that saw the Clovers make only six-of-20 shots (30 percent), they were lucky to even be in position to get the win.
"I think the shooting will come," Rady said. "Maybe the shot selection, at times, might be a factor. But some of it is just good, hard practice; coming in and putting a lot of shots up in the morning or staying after practice. Shooting is just muscle memory and reflex."
It took more than four minutes for CHS to get on the board -- a three-point basket from junior Kade Schroer ending the drought -- and the team scored just five points in the opening period.
Schroer had a team-high 12 points (four-of-seven threes).
Although the offense failed to show up in the first half, solid defense was constant throughout.
Cloverdale mixed in a 2-3 zone to compliment its 1-2-2, which helped the team use its length and versatility as an advantage.
"We worked on defense the two days that we had (of practice since Tuesday's game)," Rady said. "We put that (2-3 zone) in after the game against North Central.
"We're still learning. We've got a lot of things to learn and we've got to have patience."
CHS trailed at halftime, 18-14, but found its offensive rhythm early in the third quarter.
The Clovers sank their first three shots and finished the period seven-of-11 from the field, taking a 31-27 lead into the fourth.
The Panthers used a drive-and-kick attack and retook the lead, 39-38, on a jump shot by senior Brendon Bovair with 1:40 left.
Cloverdale answered on the next trip as Schroer sank his fourth three of the game to retake the lead.
Bovair, who finished with 16 points, then ran to the left corner and sank another three with less than a minute left.
Cloverdale sophomore Brantson Scott (32) draws a foul from Riverton Parke sophomore Tanner Edge late in their game on Saturday. Scott made both free throws to give the Clovers the lead in the final minute.
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
With the lead, the Panthers called a timeout to set their defense, but Cloverdale got the ball inside to sophomore center Brantson Scott. He drew a foul and went to the line.
Riverton Parke called another timeout to set up its final play.
Scott sank both free throws, giving his team a 43-42 lead with 43 seconds left.
The Panthers inbounded, advanced the ball then worked the clock to under 10 seconds. Senior Matt Haltom, who finished with a game-high 20 points, sank a contested 15-foot jumper from the top of the key.
Sans timeout, Cloverdale inbounded the ball with seven seconds remaining on the ticking clock.
Collet raced the length of the court, and Dorman's follow gave his team the lead.
"I'm not a big believer in calling timeout because I think the defense has a chance to set up," Rady said. "(Collet's) instincts were to take it to the basket and we had a great kid that followed. I'm a great believer of, when you're only down one, you take the ball to the hole."
The hands-off approach worked, giving the Clovers their first win and momentum going into Friday's Putnam County Classic.
"I wasn't really getting after the kids tonight," Rady said. "I wanted the kids to play hard, play smart, hustle and smile."
At Riverton Parke
Cloverdale -- 5 9 17 14 -- 45
Riverton Parke -- 8 10 9 17 -- 44
Individual Scoring
Cloverdale: Schroer 4-9 FG, 0-0 FT, 12; Cummings 4-7, 3-3, 11; Scott 3-5, 2-2, 8; Dorman 3-11, 0-0, 6; Collet 2-9, 0-0, 4; Cupp 2-3, 0-1, 4; Hughes 0-1, 0-0, 0.
Riverton Parke: Haltom 6-16, 5-6, 20; Bovair 6-16, 1-2, 16; Mathas 1-4, 2-3, 5; Sanders 1-6, 0-0, 2; Organ 1-4, 0-0, 2; Edge 0-4, 0-0, 0; Falls 0-1, 0-0, 0.
Team scoring
Cloverdale: 18-45, 5-6, 45.
Riverton Parke: 15-50, 7-10, 44.
Three-point shooting
Cloverdale 4-13, Riverton Parke 7-21
Turnovers
Cloverdale 14, Riverton Parke 12
Rebounds
Cloverdale 21, Riverton Parke 22
Current Eagles infielder signs to join Miami U. Red Hawks
Saturday, November 24, 2012
South Putnam senior Jenna Jones (front, center) signs her national letter of intent to join the Miami University Redhawks softball team for the 2014 season. She is joined by (front, from left) her sister Jessica Jones, mother Anita Jones, (back, from left) assistant coach Lindsey Blackman, father Jason Jones and head coach Chris Jones.
(Courtesy photo)
The success of the South Putnam softball team in recent years has manifested itself not just on the field (back-to-back state championships), but also in its players future.
SPHS senior Jenna Jones, an infielder for the Eagles, recently signed her letter of intent to play softball at Miami University.
"It was between Ball State and Miami," Jones said of her choice between the two Mid-American Conference rivals. "When I saw the (Miami campus), I fell in love with it.
"(The coaches) said, 'Come for a visit.' They made me an offer. In learning about the school, I fell in love with it. The coaches that were there, I fell in love with."
Jones' recruitment wasn't typical.
She never contacted the school, as she had other places.
"It all happened within a month," Jones said. "I went and played a game there, they saw me -- liked me -- and watched me again.
"I went to a camp, they watched me at one more tournament. It was all within four weeks."
Jones went on her official visit this summer, received a scholarship offer from the coaches, and two days later made her decision. It was Miami.
Then the coaches that recruited her left.
The school agreed to honor her scholarship offer, but the other 2013 recruits decommitted. Jones had a school but no coach.
"It was me waiting. 'Who is this new coach going to be? I hope she likes me,'" Jones said. "I think everything happens for a reason. I'm a big believer in that. So when my coaches left, I was like, 'OK, this happened for a reason. I just have to wait and see what it is.'"
In August the Red Hawks hired Clarisa Crowell, an assistant at Oklahoma State, to be the new head coach.
"The first time I talked to Coach C., we talked for like an hour and a half on the phone," Jones said. "After I talked to coach C. and after I met her, I knew that's why (I waited)."
Jones said she is focused on working hard now so she can do everything she can to put herself in position to play as a freshman at Miami.
She hit .395 last year with five home runs, and will look to improve on that as she takes on a leadership role with the Eagles this spring.
Jones plans to major in sports, leadership and management (SLAM) while playing for the Red Hawks, and hopes to become a graduate assistant while she attends law school after her playing career ends.
Filtration project now under way at Russellville
Saturday, November 24, 2012
RUSSELLVILLE -- The water filtration project is under way in Russellville, and the town council reported this week that the exterior of the building is already nearly complete.
The system is expected to be operational by the end of the year.
"Hopefully you'll see a big change in the water quality," council president Don Reddish said. "Hopefully not too much change in taste. We've always had good tasting water."
The previous filtration system, which was several decades old, broke early this year, which the Reddish said has led to imbalanced chlorination.
The town received a loan recently and accepted a bid from Spear Corp. for $106,710 last month to start the project.
The council also discussed a number of other issues in town.
Discussion centered on the collapsed building entering Russellville.
Attorney Jim Ensley said he believes it is realistic to see progress before 2013.
Streetlights that have been turning on and off were discussed again. In several previous meetings this year, and clerk-treasurer DeVon Davis said she would again call Duke Energy -- something she has done twice previously.
Other improvements in town have come from more positive circumstances.
Ali Elmore, a student at North Putnam Middle School student, recently won $150 in anessay contest and pledged to donate it to the town so it could be used for new basketball goals in the park.
"You've done a great job and everyone in Russellville is very proud of you," Reddish told her. "We'll get going as soon as possible."
In other business:
* The council set holiday hours for the town office. The office was closed on Thanksgiving and Nov. 22, and will be closed on Dec. 24-26 and Dec. 31-Jan. 2.
* A North Putnam bus driver has been having issues with trees hanging over the roadway on her route, but Reddish said he believes a changed route will correct the problem.
North Putnam High School unveils A grade to students
Friday, November 23, 2012
North Putnam High School students (from left) sophomore Michael Roberts, junior Sam Brock,freshman senior Nick Bishop and Morgan Robinson learn the importance of working together by searching the court blindfolded. The school held an assembly Tuesday to celebrate everyone's contribution to the IDOE-issued A grade.
ROACHDALE -- The Cougar administrators take pride in their school, so when North Putnam High School assistant principal Jason Chew heard his building received an A grade from the Indiana Department of Education, he decided it would be a good idea to share his joy with the students.
On Tuesday the school held an assembly where Chew commended the students and faculty for its hard work during the past year.
"When you apply for college, they may ask, 'What is your school's letter grade, and how does that reflect on you?'" Chew said to the students.
Grades are measured using four sets of criteria, he explained: math standardized test scores, English scores, graduation rate and college readiness.
The A grade was the highest in the school corporation this year.
Chew had the student body president, senior Katie Welch, and history teacher Tom Roach unveil the grade, and Chew said the A would be posted in the front of the building.
North Putnam board unveils new redistricting plan
Friday, November 30, 2012
BAINBRIDGE -- Facing a lawsuit, the North Putnam School Board was given a Nov. 30 deadline to produce a plan for corporation-wide voter redistricting.
That plan was presented and approved at a special board meeting on Thursday.
Beginning with the 2014 election, the North Putnam board will be composed of two at-large members and five district representatives.
These new districts will no longer be divided exclusively by townships, but instead will be combinations of existing election voting precincts.
The districts will be divided as follows:
* Russell precinct and Clinton precinct will combine and have one seat on the board.
* Franklin North will combine with Jackson and have one seat.
* Franklin South will combine with Monroe (East and West) and have one seat.
* Floyd South will combine with Floyd West and have one seat.
* Floyd East will have one seat.
The two other seats will be elected by at-large voters, however, they are "restricted."
The Restricted East member will reside in either Jackson or Floyd Township, but be voted on in the entire corporation.
The Restricted West member will reside in Monroe, Clinton, Russell or Franklin Township, but be voted on in the entire corporation.
In order roll out the new plan, all of the existing terms will now end on Dec. 31, 2014, with the exception of the current at-large seat.
The board could potentially have six new board members begin terms on Jan. 1, 2015.
The current at-large seat, held by Mark Hoke, will convert to the Restricted West seat and runs from Jan. 1, 2014 until Dec. 31, 2017.
Other seats that were elected to four-year terms this past election -- Russell, Monroe and Franklin -- have now been changed to two-year terms.
"Our board has worked very, very hard on a recommendation," North Putnam Superintendent Dan Noel said. "I think it's a good plan for everybody, and it really gets us equal representation for everybody."
In October, North Putnam was sued by the American Civil Liberties Union and a voter in Floyd Township for failing to provide equal representation and voting power to everyone in the corporation.
Noel said the new districts will have (according to 2010 census data) populations of 2,098, 2,095, 2,018, 2,170 and 1,841.
The smallest of these, Floyd East, is the fastest growing district in the corporation.
The new districts are also now within 3.2 percent of each other, considerably closer than the 31.2 percent margin in the previous system.
Late shot falls short for Eagles
Thursday, November 29, 2012
South Putnam senior Brooke Cundiff (left) steals the ball from Danville junior Haley Lynch in the game on Wednesday night. The Eagles dropped to 3-3 for the season with the loss.
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
Trailing by three with the clock ticking down in the fourth quarter, the South Putnam girls' basketball team swung the ball around the perimeter looking for an open shot.
Senior Brittany Birt was left partially open and gunned up her first three-point attempt of the game.
The shot came up short and the Eagles lost to the Danville Warriors, 53-50.
The Eagles were stymied by Danville's full-court press in the first quarter. Though SPHS had a significant height advantage, the Warriors quickness seemed to frustrate the home team.
SPHS turned the ball over 11 times in the quarter and trailed 17-9.
"We got overwhelmed with their pressure and we looked intimidated to even try to bring the ball up the court," Blackman said. "The plan was to beat (the press) and avoid the sideline. We didn't quite carry that through, and that's something we need to work on in practice."
South Putnam senior Mallory Cash (21) skies over Danville defenders Meghan Gerdts (10) and Whitney Taylor.
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
Senior Mallory Cash had seven of her 16 points in the quarter, making two three-pointers to keep the Eagles within striking distance.
SPHS picked up the tempo in the second quarter, inserting senior Brooke Cundiff in the lineup.
The Eagles went on an 18-8 run in the quarter to take a one-point lead into halftime.
"Sometimes through the course of a game you figure out that it's kind of what you need to do," Blackman said. "Tonight we had a matchup defensively. They were quicker team than we were if we played with our two posts, so we went with a four guard, one post lineup to try to be able to match up with them defensively."
The higher tempo continued in the third quarter, but the Eagles' troubles with the press returned.
Nine more turnovers in the period caught up to South Putnam, and they trailed by three entering the fourth.
Were it not for the significant advantage in rebounding and second chance points, the deficit could have been much worse.
SPHS senior Leanna Masters had game highs with 20 points (on 11 shots) and 15 rebounds, dominating the Warriors for stretches.
She also finished the game eight-of-eight from the free throw line.
"We knew going into it that we outsized them," Blackman said. "The goal that we talked about all week in practice was utilizing our advantage of Leanna in the post and making a concerted effort to get it in to her."
The Eagles opened the fourth with two quick buckets to retake the lead, but a three by Danville junior Chelsea Gould quickly ended the would-be run.
Danville controlled the pace and led by three with less than 30 seconds remaining.
The Eagles wrapped up Danville sophomore Allie Lake, who calmly sank both free throws.
Needing five points, Birt drove straight to the rim. She made a lay-up from the left side, and got fouled in the process.
Fifteen seconds remained, Birt missed her free throw attempt, then managed to secure her own rebound.
Birt slipped in and locked in a shared possession.
The jump-ball arrow pointed back to SPHS and Blackman drew up her last-chance play.
"We were just going to stack it up and try to get Mallory (Cash) for a three," SPHS coach Lindsey Blackman said. "If she wasn't open, then we were going to get it to Brooke (Cundiff) on the wing and hopefully Mattie (Varvel) stepping in from the out of bounds line for a three pointer.
"It got reversed and we couldn't get it back to a shooter."
The Eagles are back in action on Tuesday, Dec. 4 at South Vermillion at 7:30 p.m.
At South Putnam
Danville -- 17 8 12 16 -- 53
South Putnam -- 9 18 7 16 --50
Individual Scoring
Danville: Gould 6-9 FG, 4-10 FT, 16 PT; Lake 5-17, 4-6, 15; Taylor 5-8, 1-1, 11; Gerdts 2-9, 2-8, 6; Newby 1-5, 1-2, 3; Lynch 1-4, 0-2, 2; Motter 0-3, 0-0, 0; Ford 0-1, 0-0, 0.
South Putnam: Masters 6-11, 8-8, 20; Cash 5-15, 2-5, 16; Varvel 3-11, 2-5, 8; Birt 2-4, 0-1, 4; Nichols 0-2, 2-2, 2; Cundiff 0-2, 0-2, 0; Whitaker 0-3, 0-0, 0; Barnes 0-1, 0-0, 0; York 0-0, 0-0, 0.
Team Scoring
Danville: 20-56, 9-24, 53.
South Putnam: 16-49, 14-23, 50.
Three-pointers
Danville: 4-13
South Putnam: 4-11
Turnovers
Danville: 19
South Putnam: 29
Rebounds
Danville: 30
South Putnam: 44
Cougars get rolled by Riverton Parke
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
North Putnam junior Madi Asbell finds a rare hole in the Riverton Parke defense to attempt an open layup. (Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN [Order this photo]
ROACHDALE -- The North Putnam girls' basketball team knew it had a tough test ahead when they prepared to face Riverton Parke.
Even if they're graded on a curve, Tuesday's game against the No. 2 rated 1A team in the state proved to be nearly impossible to pass.
The Cougars (1-6) lost 73-23, but continued to play with passion, something that has overcome several of the Panthers (6-1) previous opponents this year.
"(The Panthers) are a solid ball club," North Putnam head coach Curtis Lawrence said. "They're doing this to everybody they play this year."
NPHS fell behind 26-5 after the first quarter and attempted only four shots.
Riverton Parke's rebounding and quickness, at times, prevented the Cougars from even inbounding the ball or getting a shot attempt.
NPHS made gradual improvements in the second period, going three-of-eight from the field, but the half ended with them trailing 46-12.
Riverton Parke seniors Sara Dickey and Paige Yando each had 18 points at the break.
"We started out in a box-and-one against Dickey; we had to switch to man-to-man when they started pulling the ball out," Lawrence said. "She's a nice player. She's going to Evansville next year to play."
Though they couldn't narrow the gap, the Cougars aggressiveness frustrated the Panthers in the second half.
Cayla Kientz's defense on Dickey slowed her down, and the switch to man-to-man defense prevented the open outside shots that the Cougars were getting in the first half.
NPHS drew seven fouls in the third period, mostly out of frustration by Riverton Parke.
"Did we play 32 minutes of solid defense? No," Lawrence said. "Did we do enough things offensively to win? No.
"But those things are going to come. You get better playing good teams, and Riverton Parke is a very good ball club."
The effort fell short, but NPHS isn't the only school to succumb to Riverton Parke.
Tuesday the fourth time in seven games the Panthers have won by at least 40 points.
Yando finished with a game-high 26. Dickey had 24.
The Cougars were led in scoring by junior Madi Asbell's nine, followed by junior Bethany Wiatt's six.
Senior Sam Lucas led the Cougars with seven rebounds.
At North Putnam
Riverton Parke -- 26 20 15 12 -- 73
North Putnam -- 5 7 7 6 -- 25
Individual scoring
Riverton Parke: Yando 10-20 FG, 5-9 FT, 26; Dickey 11-22, 0-2, 24; S. Virostko 4-11, 0-0, 8; Austin 3-5, 0-0, 6; Pollard 2-7, 0-0, 5; E. Virostko 1-4, 0-0, 2; Benell 1-2, 0-0, 0; Combs 0-2, 0-0, 0; Wood 0-1, 0-0, 0.
North Putnam: Asbell 3-7, 2-5, 9; Wiatt 3-8, 0-1, 6; Lucas 1-4, 3-6, 5; Land 2-3, 0-0, 4; Smith 0-5, 1-2, 1; Kientz 0-2, 0-1, 0; Heron 0-6, 0-0, 0; Nauert 0-0, 0-0, 0; Pitcock 0-0, 0-0, 0.
Team scoring
Riverton Parke: 32-73, 5-11, 73
North Putnam: 8-27, 6-16, 25
Dorman's last-second follow gives Cloverdale boys first win
Saturday, November 24, 2012
Cloverdale junior Brandon Dorman (23) drives to the basket for a layup. His tip-in as time expired against Riverton Parke gave the team its first win of the season.
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
MONTEZUMA -- Junior guard Brandon Dorman's tipped-in layup as time expired allowed the Cloverdale boys' basketball team to survive a fervid final two minutes and beat Riverton Parke on Saturday, 45-44.
Dorman's shot came after junior forward Kedrick Collet raced the length of the court in under four seconds, got all the way to the basket and had his game-winning attempt rattle out.
In one motion, Dorman grabbed the rebound and put his shot up.
"When you win a one-point ball game, every kid has done something that we wouldn't have won if he hadn't done it," CHS head coach Pat Rady said. "It's a team win."
With a first half that saw the Clovers make only six-of-20 shots (30 percent), they were lucky to even be in position to get the win.
"I think the shooting will come," Rady said. "Maybe the shot selection, at times, might be a factor. But some of it is just good, hard practice; coming in and putting a lot of shots up in the morning or staying after practice. Shooting is just muscle memory and reflex."
It took more than four minutes for CHS to get on the board -- a three-point basket from junior Kade Schroer ending the drought -- and the team scored just five points in the opening period.
Schroer had a team-high 12 points (four-of-seven threes).
Although the offense failed to show up in the first half, solid defense was constant throughout.
Cloverdale mixed in a 2-3 zone to compliment its 1-2-2, which helped the team use its length and versatility as an advantage.
"We worked on defense the two days that we had (of practice since Tuesday's game)," Rady said. "We put that (2-3 zone) in after the game against North Central.
"We're still learning. We've got a lot of things to learn and we've got to have patience."
CHS trailed at halftime, 18-14, but found its offensive rhythm early in the third quarter.
The Clovers sank their first three shots and finished the period seven-of-11 from the field, taking a 31-27 lead into the fourth.
The Panthers used a drive-and-kick attack and retook the lead, 39-38, on a jump shot by senior Brendon Bovair with 1:40 left.
Cloverdale answered on the next trip as Schroer sank his fourth three of the game to retake the lead.
Bovair, who finished with 16 points, then ran to the left corner and sank another three with less than a minute left.
Cloverdale sophomore Brantson Scott (32) draws a foul from Riverton Parke sophomore Tanner Edge late in their game on Saturday. Scott made both free throws to give the Clovers the lead in the final minute.
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
With the lead, the Panthers called a timeout to set their defense, but Cloverdale got the ball inside to sophomore center Brantson Scott. He drew a foul and went to the line.
Riverton Parke called another timeout to set up its final play.
Scott sank both free throws, giving his team a 43-42 lead with 43 seconds left.
The Panthers inbounded, advanced the ball then worked the clock to under 10 seconds. Senior Matt Haltom, who finished with a game-high 20 points, sank a contested 15-foot jumper from the top of the key.
Sans timeout, Cloverdale inbounded the ball with seven seconds remaining on the ticking clock.
Collet raced the length of the court, and Dorman's follow gave his team the lead.
"I'm not a big believer in calling timeout because I think the defense has a chance to set up," Rady said. "(Collet's) instincts were to take it to the basket and we had a great kid that followed. I'm a great believer of, when you're only down one, you take the ball to the hole."
The hands-off approach worked, giving the Clovers their first win and momentum going into Friday's Putnam County Classic.
"I wasn't really getting after the kids tonight," Rady said. "I wanted the kids to play hard, play smart, hustle and smile."
At Riverton Parke
Cloverdale -- 5 9 17 14 -- 45
Riverton Parke -- 8 10 9 17 -- 44
Individual Scoring
Cloverdale: Schroer 4-9 FG, 0-0 FT, 12; Cummings 4-7, 3-3, 11; Scott 3-5, 2-2, 8; Dorman 3-11, 0-0, 6; Collet 2-9, 0-0, 4; Cupp 2-3, 0-1, 4; Hughes 0-1, 0-0, 0.
Riverton Parke: Haltom 6-16, 5-6, 20; Bovair 6-16, 1-2, 16; Mathas 1-4, 2-3, 5; Sanders 1-6, 0-0, 2; Organ 1-4, 0-0, 2; Edge 0-4, 0-0, 0; Falls 0-1, 0-0, 0.
Team scoring
Cloverdale: 18-45, 5-6, 45.
Riverton Parke: 15-50, 7-10, 44.
Three-point shooting
Cloverdale 4-13, Riverton Parke 7-21
Turnovers
Cloverdale 14, Riverton Parke 12
Rebounds
Cloverdale 21, Riverton Parke 22
Current Eagles infielder signs to join Miami U. Red Hawks
Saturday, November 24, 2012
South Putnam senior Jenna Jones (front, center) signs her national letter of intent to join the Miami University Redhawks softball team for the 2014 season. She is joined by (front, from left) her sister Jessica Jones, mother Anita Jones, (back, from left) assistant coach Lindsey Blackman, father Jason Jones and head coach Chris Jones.
(Courtesy photo)
The success of the South Putnam softball team in recent years has manifested itself not just on the field (back-to-back state championships), but also in its players future.
SPHS senior Jenna Jones, an infielder for the Eagles, recently signed her letter of intent to play softball at Miami University.
"It was between Ball State and Miami," Jones said of her choice between the two Mid-American Conference rivals. "When I saw the (Miami campus), I fell in love with it.
"(The coaches) said, 'Come for a visit.' They made me an offer. In learning about the school, I fell in love with it. The coaches that were there, I fell in love with."
Jones' recruitment wasn't typical.
She never contacted the school, as she had other places.
"It all happened within a month," Jones said. "I went and played a game there, they saw me -- liked me -- and watched me again.
"I went to a camp, they watched me at one more tournament. It was all within four weeks."
Jones went on her official visit this summer, received a scholarship offer from the coaches, and two days later made her decision. It was Miami.
Then the coaches that recruited her left.
The school agreed to honor her scholarship offer, but the other 2013 recruits decommitted. Jones had a school but no coach.
"It was me waiting. 'Who is this new coach going to be? I hope she likes me,'" Jones said. "I think everything happens for a reason. I'm a big believer in that. So when my coaches left, I was like, 'OK, this happened for a reason. I just have to wait and see what it is.'"
In August the Red Hawks hired Clarisa Crowell, an assistant at Oklahoma State, to be the new head coach.
"The first time I talked to Coach C., we talked for like an hour and a half on the phone," Jones said. "After I talked to coach C. and after I met her, I knew that's why (I waited)."
Jones said she is focused on working hard now so she can do everything she can to put herself in position to play as a freshman at Miami.
She hit .395 last year with five home runs, and will look to improve on that as she takes on a leadership role with the Eagles this spring.
Jones plans to major in sports, leadership and management (SLAM) while playing for the Red Hawks, and hopes to become a graduate assistant while she attends law school after her playing career ends.
Filtration project now under way at Russellville
Saturday, November 24, 2012
RUSSELLVILLE -- The water filtration project is under way in Russellville, and the town council reported this week that the exterior of the building is already nearly complete.
The system is expected to be operational by the end of the year.
"Hopefully you'll see a big change in the water quality," council president Don Reddish said. "Hopefully not too much change in taste. We've always had good tasting water."
The previous filtration system, which was several decades old, broke early this year, which the Reddish said has led to imbalanced chlorination.
The town received a loan recently and accepted a bid from Spear Corp. for $106,710 last month to start the project.
The council also discussed a number of other issues in town.
Discussion centered on the collapsed building entering Russellville.
Attorney Jim Ensley said he believes it is realistic to see progress before 2013.
Streetlights that have been turning on and off were discussed again. In several previous meetings this year, and clerk-treasurer DeVon Davis said she would again call Duke Energy -- something she has done twice previously.
Other improvements in town have come from more positive circumstances.
Ali Elmore, a student at North Putnam Middle School student, recently won $150 in anessay contest and pledged to donate it to the town so it could be used for new basketball goals in the park.
"You've done a great job and everyone in Russellville is very proud of you," Reddish told her. "We'll get going as soon as possible."
In other business:
* The council set holiday hours for the town office. The office was closed on Thanksgiving and Nov. 22, and will be closed on Dec. 24-26 and Dec. 31-Jan. 2.
* A North Putnam bus driver has been having issues with trees hanging over the roadway on her route, but Reddish said he believes a changed route will correct the problem.
North Putnam board unveils new redistricting plan
Friday, November 30, 2012
BAINBRIDGE -- Facing a lawsuit, the North Putnam School Board was given a Nov. 30 deadline to produce a plan for corporation-wide voter redistricting.
That plan was presented and approved at a special board meeting on Thursday.
Beginning with the 2014 election, the North Putnam board will be composed of two at-large members and five district representatives.
These new districts will no longer be divided exclusively by townships, but instead will be combinations of existing election voting precincts.
The districts will be divided as follows:
* Russell precinct and Clinton precinct will combine and have one seat on the board.
* Franklin North will combine with Jackson and have one seat.
* Franklin South will combine with Monroe (East and West) and have one seat.
* Floyd South will combine with Floyd West and have one seat.
* Floyd East will have one seat.
The two other seats will be elected by at-large voters, however, they are "restricted."
The Restricted East member will reside in either Jackson or Floyd Township, but be voted on in the entire corporation.
The Restricted West member will reside in Monroe, Clinton, Russell or Franklin Township, but be voted on in the entire corporation.
In order roll out the new plan, all of the existing terms will now end on Dec. 31, 2014, with the exception of the current at-large seat.
The board could potentially have six new board members begin terms on Jan. 1, 2015.
The current at-large seat, held by Mark Hoke, will convert to the Restricted West seat and runs from Jan. 1, 2014 until Dec. 31, 2017.
Other seats that were elected to four-year terms this past election -- Russell, Monroe and Franklin -- have now been changed to two-year terms.
"Our board has worked very, very hard on a recommendation," North Putnam Superintendent Dan Noel said. "I think it's a good plan for everybody, and it really gets us equal representation for everybody."
In October, North Putnam was sued by the American Civil Liberties Union and a voter in Floyd Township for failing to provide equal representation and voting power to everyone in the corporation.
Noel said the new districts will have (according to 2010 census data) populations of 2,098, 2,095, 2,018, 2,170 and 1,841.
The smallest of these, Floyd East, is the fastest growing district in the corporation.
The new districts are also now within 3.2 percent of each other, considerably closer than the 31.2 percent margin in the previous system.
Late shot falls short for Eagles
Thursday, November 29, 2012
South Putnam senior Brooke Cundiff (left) steals the ball from Danville junior Haley Lynch in the game on Wednesday night. The Eagles dropped to 3-3 for the season with the loss.
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
Trailing by three with the clock ticking down in the fourth quarter, the South Putnam girls' basketball team swung the ball around the perimeter looking for an open shot.
Senior Brittany Birt was left partially open and gunned up her first three-point attempt of the game.
The shot came up short and the Eagles lost to the Danville Warriors, 53-50.
The Eagles were stymied by Danville's full-court press in the first quarter. Though SPHS had a significant height advantage, the Warriors quickness seemed to frustrate the home team.
SPHS turned the ball over 11 times in the quarter and trailed 17-9.
"We got overwhelmed with their pressure and we looked intimidated to even try to bring the ball up the court," Blackman said. "The plan was to beat (the press) and avoid the sideline. We didn't quite carry that through, and that's something we need to work on in practice."
South Putnam senior Mallory Cash (21) skies over Danville defenders Meghan Gerdts (10) and Whitney Taylor.
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
Senior Mallory Cash had seven of her 16 points in the quarter, making two three-pointers to keep the Eagles within striking distance.
SPHS picked up the tempo in the second quarter, inserting senior Brooke Cundiff in the lineup.
The Eagles went on an 18-8 run in the quarter to take a one-point lead into halftime.
"Sometimes through the course of a game you figure out that it's kind of what you need to do," Blackman said. "Tonight we had a matchup defensively. They were quicker team than we were if we played with our two posts, so we went with a four guard, one post lineup to try to be able to match up with them defensively."
The higher tempo continued in the third quarter, but the Eagles' troubles with the press returned.
Nine more turnovers in the period caught up to South Putnam, and they trailed by three entering the fourth.
Were it not for the significant advantage in rebounding and second chance points, the deficit could have been much worse.
SPHS senior Leanna Masters had game highs with 20 points (on 11 shots) and 15 rebounds, dominating the Warriors for stretches.
She also finished the game eight-of-eight from the free throw line.
"We knew going into it that we outsized them," Blackman said. "The goal that we talked about all week in practice was utilizing our advantage of Leanna in the post and making a concerted effort to get it in to her."
The Eagles opened the fourth with two quick buckets to retake the lead, but a three by Danville junior Chelsea Gould quickly ended the would-be run.
Danville controlled the pace and led by three with less than 30 seconds remaining.
The Eagles wrapped up Danville sophomore Allie Lake, who calmly sank both free throws.
Needing five points, Birt drove straight to the rim. She made a lay-up from the left side, and got fouled in the process.
Fifteen seconds remained, Birt missed her free throw attempt, then managed to secure her own rebound.
Birt slipped in and locked in a shared possession.
The jump-ball arrow pointed back to SPHS and Blackman drew up her last-chance play.
"We were just going to stack it up and try to get Mallory (Cash) for a three," SPHS coach Lindsey Blackman said. "If she wasn't open, then we were going to get it to Brooke (Cundiff) on the wing and hopefully Mattie (Varvel) stepping in from the out of bounds line for a three pointer.
"It got reversed and we couldn't get it back to a shooter."
The Eagles are back in action on Tuesday, Dec. 4 at South Vermillion at 7:30 p.m.
At South Putnam
Danville -- 17 8 12 16 -- 53
South Putnam -- 9 18 7 16 --50
Individual Scoring
Danville: Gould 6-9 FG, 4-10 FT, 16 PT; Lake 5-17, 4-6, 15; Taylor 5-8, 1-1, 11; Gerdts 2-9, 2-8, 6; Newby 1-5, 1-2, 3; Lynch 1-4, 0-2, 2; Motter 0-3, 0-0, 0; Ford 0-1, 0-0, 0.
South Putnam: Masters 6-11, 8-8, 20; Cash 5-15, 2-5, 16; Varvel 3-11, 2-5, 8; Birt 2-4, 0-1, 4; Nichols 0-2, 2-2, 2; Cundiff 0-2, 0-2, 0; Whitaker 0-3, 0-0, 0; Barnes 0-1, 0-0, 0; York 0-0, 0-0, 0.
Team Scoring
Danville: 20-56, 9-24, 53.
South Putnam: 16-49, 14-23, 50.
Three-pointers
Danville: 4-13
South Putnam: 4-11
Turnovers
Danville: 19
South Putnam: 29
Rebounds
Danville: 30
South Putnam: 44
Cougars get rolled by Riverton Parke
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
North Putnam junior Madi Asbell finds a rare hole in the Riverton Parke defense to attempt an open layup. (Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN [Order this photo]
ROACHDALE -- The North Putnam girls' basketball team knew it had a tough test ahead when they prepared to face Riverton Parke.
Even if they're graded on a curve, Tuesday's game against the No. 2 rated 1A team in the state proved to be nearly impossible to pass.
The Cougars (1-6) lost 73-23, but continued to play with passion, something that has overcome several of the Panthers (6-1) previous opponents this year.
"(The Panthers) are a solid ball club," North Putnam head coach Curtis Lawrence said. "They're doing this to everybody they play this year."
NPHS fell behind 26-5 after the first quarter and attempted only four shots.
Riverton Parke's rebounding and quickness, at times, prevented the Cougars from even inbounding the ball or getting a shot attempt.
NPHS made gradual improvements in the second period, going three-of-eight from the field, but the half ended with them trailing 46-12.
Riverton Parke seniors Sara Dickey and Paige Yando each had 18 points at the break.
"We started out in a box-and-one against Dickey; we had to switch to man-to-man when they started pulling the ball out," Lawrence said. "She's a nice player. She's going to Evansville next year to play."
Though they couldn't narrow the gap, the Cougars aggressiveness frustrated the Panthers in the second half.
Cayla Kientz's defense on Dickey slowed her down, and the switch to man-to-man defense prevented the open outside shots that the Cougars were getting in the first half.
NPHS drew seven fouls in the third period, mostly out of frustration by Riverton Parke.
"Did we play 32 minutes of solid defense? No," Lawrence said. "Did we do enough things offensively to win? No.
"But those things are going to come. You get better playing good teams, and Riverton Parke is a very good ball club."
The effort fell short, but NPHS isn't the only school to succumb to Riverton Parke.
Tuesday the fourth time in seven games the Panthers have won by at least 40 points.
Yando finished with a game-high 26. Dickey had 24.
The Cougars were led in scoring by junior Madi Asbell's nine, followed by junior Bethany Wiatt's six.
Senior Sam Lucas led the Cougars with seven rebounds.
At North Putnam
Riverton Parke -- 26 20 15 12 -- 73
North Putnam -- 5 7 7 6 -- 25
Individual scoring
Riverton Parke: Yando 10-20 FG, 5-9 FT, 26; Dickey 11-22, 0-2, 24; S. Virostko 4-11, 0-0, 8; Austin 3-5, 0-0, 6; Pollard 2-7, 0-0, 5; E. Virostko 1-4, 0-0, 2; Benell 1-2, 0-0, 0; Combs 0-2, 0-0, 0; Wood 0-1, 0-0, 0.
North Putnam: Asbell 3-7, 2-5, 9; Wiatt 3-8, 0-1, 6; Lucas 1-4, 3-6, 5; Land 2-3, 0-0, 4; Smith 0-5, 1-2, 1; Kientz 0-2, 0-1, 0; Heron 0-6, 0-0, 0; Nauert 0-0, 0-0, 0; Pitcock 0-0, 0-0, 0.
Team scoring
Riverton Parke: 32-73, 5-11, 73
North Putnam: 8-27, 6-16, 25
Dorman's last-second follow gives Cloverdale boys first win
Saturday, November 24, 2012
Cloverdale junior Brandon Dorman (23) drives to the basket for a layup. His tip-in as time expired against Riverton Parke gave the team its first win of the season.
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
MONTEZUMA -- Junior guard Brandon Dorman's tipped-in layup as time expired allowed the Cloverdale boys' basketball team to survive a fervid final two minutes and beat Riverton Parke on Saturday, 45-44.
Dorman's shot came after junior forward Kedrick Collet raced the length of the court in under four seconds, got all the way to the basket and had his game-winning attempt rattle out.
In one motion, Dorman grabbed the rebound and put his shot up.
"When you win a one-point ball game, every kid has done something that we wouldn't have won if he hadn't done it," CHS head coach Pat Rady said. "It's a team win."
With a first half that saw the Clovers make only six-of-20 shots (30 percent), they were lucky to even be in position to get the win.
"I think the shooting will come," Rady said. "Maybe the shot selection, at times, might be a factor. But some of it is just good, hard practice; coming in and putting a lot of shots up in the morning or staying after practice. Shooting is just muscle memory and reflex."
It took more than four minutes for CHS to get on the board -- a three-point basket from junior Kade Schroer ending the drought -- and the team scored just five points in the opening period.
Schroer had a team-high 12 points (four-of-seven threes).
Although the offense failed to show up in the first half, solid defense was constant throughout.
Cloverdale mixed in a 2-3 zone to compliment its 1-2-2, which helped the team use its length and versatility as an advantage.
"We worked on defense the two days that we had (of practice since Tuesday's game)," Rady said. "We put that (2-3 zone) in after the game against North Central.
"We're still learning. We've got a lot of things to learn and we've got to have patience."
CHS trailed at halftime, 18-14, but found its offensive rhythm early in the third quarter.
The Clovers sank their first three shots and finished the period seven-of-11 from the field, taking a 31-27 lead into the fourth.
The Panthers used a drive-and-kick attack and retook the lead, 39-38, on a jump shot by senior Brendon Bovair with 1:40 left.
Cloverdale answered on the next trip as Schroer sank his fourth three of the game to retake the lead.
Bovair, who finished with 16 points, then ran to the left corner and sank another three with less than a minute left.
Cloverdale sophomore Brantson Scott (32) draws a foul from Riverton Parke sophomore Tanner Edge late in their game on Saturday. Scott made both free throws to give the Clovers the lead in the final minute.
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
With the lead, the Panthers called a timeout to set their defense, but Cloverdale got the ball inside to sophomore center Brantson Scott. He drew a foul and went to the line.
Riverton Parke called another timeout to set up its final play.
Scott sank both free throws, giving his team a 43-42 lead with 43 seconds left.
The Panthers inbounded, advanced the ball then worked the clock to under 10 seconds. Senior Matt Haltom, who finished with a game-high 20 points, sank a contested 15-foot jumper from the top of the key.
Sans timeout, Cloverdale inbounded the ball with seven seconds remaining on the ticking clock.
Collet raced the length of the court, and Dorman's follow gave his team the lead.
"I'm not a big believer in calling timeout because I think the defense has a chance to set up," Rady said. "(Collet's) instincts were to take it to the basket and we had a great kid that followed. I'm a great believer of, when you're only down one, you take the ball to the hole."
The hands-off approach worked, giving the Clovers their first win and momentum going into Friday's Putnam County Classic.
"I wasn't really getting after the kids tonight," Rady said. "I wanted the kids to play hard, play smart, hustle and smile."
At Riverton Parke
Cloverdale -- 5 9 17 14 -- 45
Riverton Parke -- 8 10 9 17 -- 44
Individual Scoring
Cloverdale: Schroer 4-9 FG, 0-0 FT, 12; Cummings 4-7, 3-3, 11; Scott 3-5, 2-2, 8; Dorman 3-11, 0-0, 6; Collet 2-9, 0-0, 4; Cupp 2-3, 0-1, 4; Hughes 0-1, 0-0, 0.
Riverton Parke: Haltom 6-16, 5-6, 20; Bovair 6-16, 1-2, 16; Mathas 1-4, 2-3, 5; Sanders 1-6, 0-0, 2; Organ 1-4, 0-0, 2; Edge 0-4, 0-0, 0; Falls 0-1, 0-0, 0.
Team scoring
Cloverdale: 18-45, 5-6, 45.
Riverton Parke: 15-50, 7-10, 44.
Three-point shooting
Cloverdale 4-13, Riverton Parke 7-21
Turnovers
Cloverdale 14, Riverton Parke 12
Rebounds
Cloverdale 21, Riverton Parke 22
Current Eagles infielder signs to join Miami U. Red Hawks
Saturday, November 24, 2012
South Putnam senior Jenna Jones (front, center) signs her national letter of intent to join the Miami University Redhawks softball team for the 2014 season. She is joined by (front, from left) her sister Jessica Jones, mother Anita Jones, (back, from left) assistant coach Lindsey Blackman, father Jason Jones and head coach Chris Jones.
(Courtesy photo)
The success of the South Putnam softball team in recent years has manifested itself not just on the field (back-to-back state championships), but also in its players future.
SPHS senior Jenna Jones, an infielder for the Eagles, recently signed her letter of intent to play softball at Miami University.
"It was between Ball State and Miami," Jones said of her choice between the two Mid-American Conference rivals. "When I saw the (Miami campus), I fell in love with it.
"(The coaches) said, 'Come for a visit.' They made me an offer. In learning about the school, I fell in love with it. The coaches that were there, I fell in love with."
Jones' recruitment wasn't typical.
She never contacted the school, as she had other places.
"It all happened within a month," Jones said. "I went and played a game there, they saw me -- liked me -- and watched me again.
"I went to a camp, they watched me at one more tournament. It was all within four weeks."
Jones went on her official visit this summer, received a scholarship offer from the coaches, and two days later made her decision. It was Miami.
Then the coaches that recruited her left.
The school agreed to honor her scholarship offer, but the other 2013 recruits decommitted. Jones had a school but no coach.
"It was me waiting. 'Who is this new coach going to be? I hope she likes me,'" Jones said. "I think everything happens for a reason. I'm a big believer in that. So when my coaches left, I was like, 'OK, this happened for a reason. I just have to wait and see what it is.'"
In August the Red Hawks hired Clarisa Crowell, an assistant at Oklahoma State, to be the new head coach.
"The first time I talked to Coach C., we talked for like an hour and a half on the phone," Jones said. "After I talked to coach C. and after I met her, I knew that's why (I waited)."
Jones said she is focused on working hard now so she can do everything she can to put herself in position to play as a freshman at Miami.
She hit .395 last year with five home runs, and will look to improve on that as she takes on a leadership role with the Eagles this spring.
Jones plans to major in sports, leadership and management (SLAM) while playing for the Red Hawks, and hopes to become a graduate assistant while she attends law school after her playing career ends.
North Putnam board unveils new redistricting plan
Friday, November 30, 2012
BAINBRIDGE -- Facing a lawsuit, the North Putnam School Board was given a Nov. 30 deadline to produce a plan for corporation-wide voter redistricting.
That plan was presented and approved at a special board meeting on Thursday.
Beginning with the 2014 election, the North Putnam board will be composed of two at-large members and five district representatives.
These new districts will no longer be divided exclusively by townships, but instead will be combinations of existing election voting precincts.
The districts will be divided as follows:
* Russell precinct and Clinton precinct will combine and have one seat on the board.
* Franklin North will combine with Jackson and have one seat.
* Franklin South will combine with Monroe (East and West) and have one seat.
* Floyd South will combine with Floyd West and have one seat.
* Floyd East will have one seat.
The two other seats will be elected by at-large voters, however, they are "restricted."
The Restricted East member will reside in either Jackson or Floyd Township, but be voted on in the entire corporation.
The Restricted West member will reside in Monroe, Clinton, Russell or Franklin Township, but be voted on in the entire corporation.
In order roll out the new plan, all of the existing terms will now end on Dec. 31, 2014, with the exception of the current at-large seat.
The board could potentially have six new board members begin terms on Jan. 1, 2015.
The current at-large seat, held by Mark Hoke, will convert to the Restricted West seat and runs from Jan. 1, 2014 until Dec. 31, 2017.
Other seats that were elected to four-year terms this past election -- Russell, Monroe and Franklin -- have now been changed to two-year terms.
"Our board has worked very, very hard on a recommendation," North Putnam Superintendent Dan Noel said. "I think it's a good plan for everybody, and it really gets us equal representation for everybody."
In October, North Putnam was sued by the American Civil Liberties Union and a voter in Floyd Township for failing to provide equal representation and voting power to everyone in the corporation.
Noel said the new districts will have (according to 2010 census data) populations of 2,098, 2,095, 2,018, 2,170 and 1,841.
The smallest of these, Floyd East, is the fastest growing district in the corporation.
The new districts are also now within 3.2 percent of each other, considerably closer than the 31.2 percent margin in the previous system.
Late shot falls short for Eagles
Thursday, November 29, 2012
South Putnam senior Brooke Cundiff (left) steals the ball from Danville junior Haley Lynch in the game on Wednesday night. The Eagles dropped to 3-3 for the season with the loss.
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
Trailing by three with the clock ticking down in the fourth quarter, the South Putnam girls' basketball team swung the ball around the perimeter looking for an open shot.
Senior Brittany Birt was left partially open and gunned up her first three-point attempt of the game.
The shot came up short and the Eagles lost to the Danville Warriors, 53-50.
The Eagles were stymied by Danville's full-court press in the first quarter. Though SPHS had a significant height advantage, the Warriors quickness seemed to frustrate the home team.
SPHS turned the ball over 11 times in the quarter and trailed 17-9.
"We got overwhelmed with their pressure and we looked intimidated to even try to bring the ball up the court," Blackman said. "The plan was to beat (the press) and avoid the sideline. We didn't quite carry that through, and that's something we need to work on in practice."
South Putnam senior Mallory Cash (21) skies over Danville defenders Meghan Gerdts (10) and Whitney Taylor.
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
Senior Mallory Cash had seven of her 16 points in the quarter, making two three-pointers to keep the Eagles within striking distance.
SPHS picked up the tempo in the second quarter, inserting senior Brooke Cundiff in the lineup.
The Eagles went on an 18-8 run in the quarter to take a one-point lead into halftime.
"Sometimes through the course of a game you figure out that it's kind of what you need to do," Blackman said. "Tonight we had a matchup defensively. They were quicker team than we were if we played with our two posts, so we went with a four guard, one post lineup to try to be able to match up with them defensively."
The higher tempo continued in the third quarter, but the Eagles' troubles with the press returned.
Nine more turnovers in the period caught up to South Putnam, and they trailed by three entering the fourth.
Were it not for the significant advantage in rebounding and second chance points, the deficit could have been much worse.
SPHS senior Leanna Masters had game highs with 20 points (on 11 shots) and 15 rebounds, dominating the Warriors for stretches.
She also finished the game eight-of-eight from the free throw line.
"We knew going into it that we outsized them," Blackman said. "The goal that we talked about all week in practice was utilizing our advantage of Leanna in the post and making a concerted effort to get it in to her."
The Eagles opened the fourth with two quick buckets to retake the lead, but a three by Danville junior Chelsea Gould quickly ended the would-be run.
Danville controlled the pace and led by three with less than 30 seconds remaining.
The Eagles wrapped up Danville sophomore Allie Lake, who calmly sank both free throws.
Needing five points, Birt drove straight to the rim. She made a lay-up from the left side, and got fouled in the process.
Fifteen seconds remained, Birt missed her free throw attempt, then managed to secure her own rebound.
Birt slipped in and locked in a shared possession.
The jump-ball arrow pointed back to SPHS and Blackman drew up her last-chance play.
"We were just going to stack it up and try to get Mallory (Cash) for a three," SPHS coach Lindsey Blackman said. "If she wasn't open, then we were going to get it to Brooke (Cundiff) on the wing and hopefully Mattie (Varvel) stepping in from the out of bounds line for a three pointer.
"It got reversed and we couldn't get it back to a shooter."
The Eagles are back in action on Tuesday, Dec. 4 at South Vermillion at 7:30 p.m.
At South Putnam
Danville -- 17 8 12 16 -- 53
South Putnam -- 9 18 7 16 --50
Individual Scoring
Danville: Gould 6-9 FG, 4-10 FT, 16 PT; Lake 5-17, 4-6, 15; Taylor 5-8, 1-1, 11; Gerdts 2-9, 2-8, 6; Newby 1-5, 1-2, 3; Lynch 1-4, 0-2, 2; Motter 0-3, 0-0, 0; Ford 0-1, 0-0, 0.
South Putnam: Masters 6-11, 8-8, 20; Cash 5-15, 2-5, 16; Varvel 3-11, 2-5, 8; Birt 2-4, 0-1, 4; Nichols 0-2, 2-2, 2; Cundiff 0-2, 0-2, 0; Whitaker 0-3, 0-0, 0; Barnes 0-1, 0-0, 0; York 0-0, 0-0, 0.
Team Scoring
Danville: 20-56, 9-24, 53.
South Putnam: 16-49, 14-23, 50.
Three-pointers
Danville: 4-13
South Putnam: 4-11
Turnovers
Danville: 19
South Putnam: 29
Rebounds
Danville: 30
South Putnam: 44
Cougars get rolled by Riverton Parke
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
North Putnam junior Madi Asbell finds a rare hole in the Riverton Parke defense to attempt an open layup. (Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN [Order this photo]
ROACHDALE -- The North Putnam girls' basketball team knew it had a tough test ahead when they prepared to face Riverton Parke.
Even if they're graded on a curve, Tuesday's game against the No. 2 rated 1A team in the state proved to be nearly impossible to pass.
The Cougars (1-6) lost 73-23, but continued to play with passion, something that has overcome several of the Panthers (6-1) previous opponents this year.
"(The Panthers) are a solid ball club," North Putnam head coach Curtis Lawrence said. "They're doing this to everybody they play this year."
NPHS fell behind 26-5 after the first quarter and attempted only four shots.
Riverton Parke's rebounding and quickness, at times, prevented the Cougars from even inbounding the ball or getting a shot attempt.
NPHS made gradual improvements in the second period, going three-of-eight from the field, but the half ended with them trailing 46-12.
Riverton Parke seniors Sara Dickey and Paige Yando each had 18 points at the break.
"We started out in a box-and-one against Dickey; we had to switch to man-to-man when they started pulling the ball out," Lawrence said. "She's a nice player. She's going to Evansville next year to play."
Though they couldn't narrow the gap, the Cougars aggressiveness frustrated the Panthers in the second half.
Cayla Kientz's defense on Dickey slowed her down, and the switch to man-to-man defense prevented the open outside shots that the Cougars were getting in the first half.
NPHS drew seven fouls in the third period, mostly out of frustration by Riverton Parke.
"Did we play 32 minutes of solid defense? No," Lawrence said. "Did we do enough things offensively to win? No.
"But those things are going to come. You get better playing good teams, and Riverton Parke is a very good ball club."
The effort fell short, but NPHS isn't the only school to succumb to Riverton Parke.
Tuesday the fourth time in seven games the Panthers have won by at least 40 points.
Yando finished with a game-high 26. Dickey had 24.
The Cougars were led in scoring by junior Madi Asbell's nine, followed by junior Bethany Wiatt's six.
Senior Sam Lucas led the Cougars with seven rebounds.
At North Putnam
Riverton Parke -- 26 20 15 12 -- 73
North Putnam -- 5 7 7 6 -- 25
Individual scoring
Riverton Parke: Yando 10-20 FG, 5-9 FT, 26; Dickey 11-22, 0-2, 24; S. Virostko 4-11, 0-0, 8; Austin 3-5, 0-0, 6; Pollard 2-7, 0-0, 5; E. Virostko 1-4, 0-0, 2; Benell 1-2, 0-0, 0; Combs 0-2, 0-0, 0; Wood 0-1, 0-0, 0.
North Putnam: Asbell 3-7, 2-5, 9; Wiatt 3-8, 0-1, 6; Lucas 1-4, 3-6, 5; Land 2-3, 0-0, 4; Smith 0-5, 1-2, 1; Kientz 0-2, 0-1, 0; Heron 0-6, 0-0, 0; Nauert 0-0, 0-0, 0; Pitcock 0-0, 0-0, 0.
Team scoring
Riverton Parke: 32-73, 5-11, 73
North Putnam: 8-27, 6-16, 25
Dorman's last-second follow gives Cloverdale boys first win
Saturday, November 24, 2012
Cloverdale junior Brandon Dorman (23) drives to the basket for a layup. His tip-in as time expired against Riverton Parke gave the team its first win of the season.
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
MONTEZUMA -- Junior guard Brandon Dorman's tipped-in layup as time expired allowed the Cloverdale boys' basketball team to survive a fervid final two minutes and beat Riverton Parke on Saturday, 45-44.
Dorman's shot came after junior forward Kedrick Collet raced the length of the court in under four seconds, got all the way to the basket and had his game-winning attempt rattle out.
In one motion, Dorman grabbed the rebound and put his shot up.
"When you win a one-point ball game, every kid has done something that we wouldn't have won if he hadn't done it," CHS head coach Pat Rady said. "It's a team win."
With a first half that saw the Clovers make only six-of-20 shots (30 percent), they were lucky to even be in position to get the win.
"I think the shooting will come," Rady said. "Maybe the shot selection, at times, might be a factor. But some of it is just good, hard practice; coming in and putting a lot of shots up in the morning or staying after practice. Shooting is just muscle memory and reflex."
It took more than four minutes for CHS to get on the board -- a three-point basket from junior Kade Schroer ending the drought -- and the team scored just five points in the opening period.
Schroer had a team-high 12 points (four-of-seven threes).
Although the offense failed to show up in the first half, solid defense was constant throughout.
Cloverdale mixed in a 2-3 zone to compliment its 1-2-2, which helped the team use its length and versatility as an advantage.
"We worked on defense the two days that we had (of practice since Tuesday's game)," Rady said. "We put that (2-3 zone) in after the game against North Central.
"We're still learning. We've got a lot of things to learn and we've got to have patience."
CHS trailed at halftime, 18-14, but found its offensive rhythm early in the third quarter.
The Clovers sank their first three shots and finished the period seven-of-11 from the field, taking a 31-27 lead into the fourth.
The Panthers used a drive-and-kick attack and retook the lead, 39-38, on a jump shot by senior Brendon Bovair with 1:40 left.
Cloverdale answered on the next trip as Schroer sank his fourth three of the game to retake the lead.
Bovair, who finished with 16 points, then ran to the left corner and sank another three with less than a minute left.
Cloverdale sophomore Brantson Scott (32) draws a foul from Riverton Parke sophomore Tanner Edge late in their game on Saturday. Scott made both free throws to give the Clovers the lead in the final minute.
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
With the lead, the Panthers called a timeout to set their defense, but Cloverdale got the ball inside to sophomore center Brantson Scott. He drew a foul and went to the line.
Riverton Parke called another timeout to set up its final play.
Scott sank both free throws, giving his team a 43-42 lead with 43 seconds left.
The Panthers inbounded, advanced the ball then worked the clock to under 10 seconds. Senior Matt Haltom, who finished with a game-high 20 points, sank a contested 15-foot jumper from the top of the key.
Sans timeout, Cloverdale inbounded the ball with seven seconds remaining on the ticking clock.
Collet raced the length of the court, and Dorman's follow gave his team the lead.
"I'm not a big believer in calling timeout because I think the defense has a chance to set up," Rady said. "(Collet's) instincts were to take it to the basket and we had a great kid that followed. I'm a great believer of, when you're only down one, you take the ball to the hole."
The hands-off approach worked, giving the Clovers their first win and momentum going into Friday's Putnam County Classic.
"I wasn't really getting after the kids tonight," Rady said. "I wanted the kids to play hard, play smart, hustle and smile."
At Riverton Parke
Cloverdale -- 5 9 17 14 -- 45
Riverton Parke -- 8 10 9 17 -- 44
Individual Scoring
Cloverdale: Schroer 4-9 FG, 0-0 FT, 12; Cummings 4-7, 3-3, 11; Scott 3-5, 2-2, 8; Dorman 3-11, 0-0, 6; Collet 2-9, 0-0, 4; Cupp 2-3, 0-1, 4; Hughes 0-1, 0-0, 0.
Riverton Parke: Haltom 6-16, 5-6, 20; Bovair 6-16, 1-2, 16; Mathas 1-4, 2-3, 5; Sanders 1-6, 0-0, 2; Organ 1-4, 0-0, 2; Edge 0-4, 0-0, 0; Falls 0-1, 0-0, 0.
Team scoring
Cloverdale: 18-45, 5-6, 45.
Riverton Parke: 15-50, 7-10, 44.
Three-point shooting
Cloverdale 4-13, Riverton Parke 7-21
Turnovers
Cloverdale 14, Riverton Parke 12
Rebounds
Cloverdale 21, Riverton Parke 22
North Putnam board unveils new redistricting plan
Friday, November 30, 2012
BAINBRIDGE -- Facing a lawsuit, the North Putnam School Board was given a Nov. 30 deadline to produce a plan for corporation-wide voter redistricting.
That plan was presented and approved at a special board meeting on Thursday.
Beginning with the 2014 election, the North Putnam board will be composed of two at-large members and five district representatives.
These new districts will no longer be divided exclusively by townships, but instead will be combinations of existing election voting precincts.
The districts will be divided as follows:
* Russell precinct and Clinton precinct will combine and have one seat on the board.
* Franklin North will combine with Jackson and have one seat.
* Franklin South will combine with Monroe (East and West) and have one seat.
* Floyd South will combine with Floyd West and have one seat.
* Floyd East will have one seat.
The two other seats will be elected by at-large voters, however, they are "restricted."
The Restricted East member will reside in either Jackson or Floyd Township, but be voted on in the entire corporation.
The Restricted West member will reside in Monroe, Clinton, Russell or Franklin Township, but be voted on in the entire corporation.
In order roll out the new plan, all of the existing terms will now end on Dec. 31, 2014, with the exception of the current at-large seat.
The board could potentially have six new board members begin terms on Jan. 1, 2015.
The current at-large seat, held by Mark Hoke, will convert to the Restricted West seat and runs from Jan. 1, 2014 until Dec. 31, 2017.
Other seats that were elected to four-year terms this past election -- Russell, Monroe and Franklin -- have now been changed to two-year terms.
"Our board has worked very, very hard on a recommendation," North Putnam Superintendent Dan Noel said. "I think it's a good plan for everybody, and it really gets us equal representation for everybody."
In October, North Putnam was sued by the American Civil Liberties Union and a voter in Floyd Township for failing to provide equal representation and voting power to everyone in the corporation.
Noel said the new districts will have (according to 2010 census data) populations of 2,098, 2,095, 2,018, 2,170 and 1,841.
The smallest of these, Floyd East, is the fastest growing district in the corporation.
The new districts are also now within 3.2 percent of each other, considerably closer than the 31.2 percent margin in the previous system.
Late shot falls short for Eagles
Thursday, November 29, 2012
South Putnam senior Brooke Cundiff (left) steals the ball from Danville junior Haley Lynch in the game on Wednesday night. The Eagles dropped to 3-3 for the season with the loss.
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
Trailing by three with the clock ticking down in the fourth quarter, the South Putnam girls' basketball team swung the ball around the perimeter looking for an open shot.
Senior Brittany Birt was left partially open and gunned up her first three-point attempt of the game.
The shot came up short and the Eagles lost to the Danville Warriors, 53-50.
The Eagles were stymied by Danville's full-court press in the first quarter. Though SPHS had a significant height advantage, the Warriors quickness seemed to frustrate the home team.
SPHS turned the ball over 11 times in the quarter and trailed 17-9.
"We got overwhelmed with their pressure and we looked intimidated to even try to bring the ball up the court," Blackman said. "The plan was to beat (the press) and avoid the sideline. We didn't quite carry that through, and that's something we need to work on in practice."
South Putnam senior Mallory Cash (21) skies over Danville defenders Meghan Gerdts (10) and Whitney Taylor.
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
Senior Mallory Cash had seven of her 16 points in the quarter, making two three-pointers to keep the Eagles within striking distance.
SPHS picked up the tempo in the second quarter, inserting senior Brooke Cundiff in the lineup.
The Eagles went on an 18-8 run in the quarter to take a one-point lead into halftime.
"Sometimes through the course of a game you figure out that it's kind of what you need to do," Blackman said. "Tonight we had a matchup defensively. They were quicker team than we were if we played with our two posts, so we went with a four guard, one post lineup to try to be able to match up with them defensively."
The higher tempo continued in the third quarter, but the Eagles' troubles with the press returned.
Nine more turnovers in the period caught up to South Putnam, and they trailed by three entering the fourth.
Were it not for the significant advantage in rebounding and second chance points, the deficit could have been much worse.
SPHS senior Leanna Masters had game highs with 20 points (on 11 shots) and 15 rebounds, dominating the Warriors for stretches.
She also finished the game eight-of-eight from the free throw line.
"We knew going into it that we outsized them," Blackman said. "The goal that we talked about all week in practice was utilizing our advantage of Leanna in the post and making a concerted effort to get it in to her."
The Eagles opened the fourth with two quick buckets to retake the lead, but a three by Danville junior Chelsea Gould quickly ended the would-be run.
Danville controlled the pace and led by three with less than 30 seconds remaining.
The Eagles wrapped up Danville sophomore Allie Lake, who calmly sank both free throws.
Needing five points, Birt drove straight to the rim. She made a lay-up from the left side, and got fouled in the process.
Fifteen seconds remained, Birt missed her free throw attempt, then managed to secure her own rebound.
Birt slipped in and locked in a shared possession.
The jump-ball arrow pointed back to SPHS and Blackman drew up her last-chance play.
"We were just going to stack it up and try to get Mallory (Cash) for a three," SPHS coach Lindsey Blackman said. "If she wasn't open, then we were going to get it to Brooke (Cundiff) on the wing and hopefully Mattie (Varvel) stepping in from the out of bounds line for a three pointer.
"It got reversed and we couldn't get it back to a shooter."
The Eagles are back in action on Tuesday, Dec. 4 at South Vermillion at 7:30 p.m.
At South Putnam
Danville -- 17 8 12 16 -- 53
South Putnam -- 9 18 7 16 --50
Individual Scoring
Danville: Gould 6-9 FG, 4-10 FT, 16 PT; Lake 5-17, 4-6, 15; Taylor 5-8, 1-1, 11; Gerdts 2-9, 2-8, 6; Newby 1-5, 1-2, 3; Lynch 1-4, 0-2, 2; Motter 0-3, 0-0, 0; Ford 0-1, 0-0, 0.
South Putnam: Masters 6-11, 8-8, 20; Cash 5-15, 2-5, 16; Varvel 3-11, 2-5, 8; Birt 2-4, 0-1, 4; Nichols 0-2, 2-2, 2; Cundiff 0-2, 0-2, 0; Whitaker 0-3, 0-0, 0; Barnes 0-1, 0-0, 0; York 0-0, 0-0, 0.
Team Scoring
Danville: 20-56, 9-24, 53.
South Putnam: 16-49, 14-23, 50.
Three-pointers
Danville: 4-13
South Putnam: 4-11
Turnovers
Danville: 19
South Putnam: 29
Rebounds
Danville: 30
South Putnam: 44
Cougars get rolled by Riverton Parke
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
North Putnam junior Madi Asbell finds a rare hole in the Riverton Parke defense to attempt an open layup. (Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN [Order this photo]
ROACHDALE -- The North Putnam girls' basketball team knew it had a tough test ahead when they prepared to face Riverton Parke.
Even if they're graded on a curve, Tuesday's game against the No. 2 rated 1A team in the state proved to be nearly impossible to pass.
The Cougars (1-6) lost 73-23, but continued to play with passion, something that has overcome several of the Panthers (6-1) previous opponents this year.
"(The Panthers) are a solid ball club," North Putnam head coach Curtis Lawrence said. "They're doing this to everybody they play this year."
NPHS fell behind 26-5 after the first quarter and attempted only four shots.
Riverton Parke's rebounding and quickness, at times, prevented the Cougars from even inbounding the ball or getting a shot attempt.
NPHS made gradual improvements in the second period, going three-of-eight from the field, but the half ended with them trailing 46-12.
Riverton Parke seniors Sara Dickey and Paige Yando each had 18 points at the break.
"We started out in a box-and-one against Dickey; we had to switch to man-to-man when they started pulling the ball out," Lawrence said. "She's a nice player. She's going to Evansville next year to play."
Though they couldn't narrow the gap, the Cougars aggressiveness frustrated the Panthers in the second half.
Cayla Kientz's defense on Dickey slowed her down, and the switch to man-to-man defense prevented the open outside shots that the Cougars were getting in the first half.
NPHS drew seven fouls in the third period, mostly out of frustration by Riverton Parke.
"Did we play 32 minutes of solid defense? No," Lawrence said. "Did we do enough things offensively to win? No.
"But those things are going to come. You get better playing good teams, and Riverton Parke is a very good ball club."
The effort fell short, but NPHS isn't the only school to succumb to Riverton Parke.
Tuesday the fourth time in seven games the Panthers have won by at least 40 points.
Yando finished with a game-high 26. Dickey had 24.
The Cougars were led in scoring by junior Madi Asbell's nine, followed by junior Bethany Wiatt's six.
Senior Sam Lucas led the Cougars with seven rebounds.
At North Putnam
Riverton Parke -- 26 20 15 12 -- 73
North Putnam -- 5 7 7 6 -- 25
Individual scoring
Riverton Parke: Yando 10-20 FG, 5-9 FT, 26; Dickey 11-22, 0-2, 24; S. Virostko 4-11, 0-0, 8; Austin 3-5, 0-0, 6; Pollard 2-7, 0-0, 5; E. Virostko 1-4, 0-0, 2; Benell 1-2, 0-0, 0; Combs 0-2, 0-0, 0; Wood 0-1, 0-0, 0.
North Putnam: Asbell 3-7, 2-5, 9; Wiatt 3-8, 0-1, 6; Lucas 1-4, 3-6, 5; Land 2-3, 0-0, 4; Smith 0-5, 1-2, 1; Kientz 0-2, 0-1, 0; Heron 0-6, 0-0, 0; Nauert 0-0, 0-0, 0; Pitcock 0-0, 0-0, 0.
Team scoring
Riverton Parke: 32-73, 5-11, 73
North Putnam: 8-27, 6-16, 25
North Putnam board unveils new redistricting plan
Friday, November 30, 2012
BAINBRIDGE -- Facing a lawsuit, the North Putnam School Board was given a Nov. 30 deadline to produce a plan for corporation-wide voter redistricting.
That plan was presented and approved at a special board meeting on Thursday.
Beginning with the 2014 election, the North Putnam board will be composed of two at-large members and five district representatives.
These new districts will no longer be divided exclusively by townships, but instead will be combinations of existing election voting precincts.
The districts will be divided as follows:
* Russell precinct and Clinton precinct will combine and have one seat on the board.
* Franklin North will combine with Jackson and have one seat.
* Franklin South will combine with Monroe (East and West) and have one seat.
* Floyd South will combine with Floyd West and have one seat.
* Floyd East will have one seat.
The two other seats will be elected by at-large voters, however, they are "restricted."
The Restricted East member will reside in either Jackson or Floyd Township, but be voted on in the entire corporation.
The Restricted West member will reside in Monroe, Clinton, Russell or Franklin Township, but be voted on in the entire corporation.
In order roll out the new plan, all of the existing terms will now end on Dec. 31, 2014, with the exception of the current at-large seat.
The board could potentially have six new board members begin terms on Jan. 1, 2015.
The current at-large seat, held by Mark Hoke, will convert to the Restricted West seat and runs from Jan. 1, 2014 until Dec. 31, 2017.
Other seats that were elected to four-year terms this past election -- Russell, Monroe and Franklin -- have now been changed to two-year terms.
"Our board has worked very, very hard on a recommendation," North Putnam Superintendent Dan Noel said. "I think it's a good plan for everybody, and it really gets us equal representation for everybody."
In October, North Putnam was sued by the American Civil Liberties Union and a voter in Floyd Township for failing to provide equal representation and voting power to everyone in the corporation.
Noel said the new districts will have (according to 2010 census data) populations of 2,098, 2,095, 2,018, 2,170 and 1,841.
The smallest of these, Floyd East, is the fastest growing district in the corporation.
The new districts are also now within 3.2 percent of each other, considerably closer than the 31.2 percent margin in the previous system.
Late shot falls short for Eagles
Thursday, November 29, 2012
South Putnam senior Brooke Cundiff (left) steals the ball from Danville junior Haley Lynch in the game on Wednesday night. The Eagles dropped to 3-3 for the season with the loss.
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
Trailing by three with the clock ticking down in the fourth quarter, the South Putnam girls' basketball team swung the ball around the perimeter looking for an open shot.
Senior Brittany Birt was left partially open and gunned up her first three-point attempt of the game.
The shot came up short and the Eagles lost to the Danville Warriors, 53-50.
The Eagles were stymied by Danville's full-court press in the first quarter. Though SPHS had a significant height advantage, the Warriors quickness seemed to frustrate the home team.
SPHS turned the ball over 11 times in the quarter and trailed 17-9.
"We got overwhelmed with their pressure and we looked intimidated to even try to bring the ball up the court," Blackman said. "The plan was to beat (the press) and avoid the sideline. We didn't quite carry that through, and that's something we need to work on in practice."
South Putnam senior Mallory Cash (21) skies over Danville defenders Meghan Gerdts (10) and Whitney Taylor.
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
Senior Mallory Cash had seven of her 16 points in the quarter, making two three-pointers to keep the Eagles within striking distance.
SPHS picked up the tempo in the second quarter, inserting senior Brooke Cundiff in the lineup.
The Eagles went on an 18-8 run in the quarter to take a one-point lead into halftime.
"Sometimes through the course of a game you figure out that it's kind of what you need to do," Blackman said. "Tonight we had a matchup defensively. They were quicker team than we were if we played with our two posts, so we went with a four guard, one post lineup to try to be able to match up with them defensively."
The higher tempo continued in the third quarter, but the Eagles' troubles with the press returned.
Nine more turnovers in the period caught up to South Putnam, and they trailed by three entering the fourth.
Were it not for the significant advantage in rebounding and second chance points, the deficit could have been much worse.
SPHS senior Leanna Masters had game highs with 20 points (on 11 shots) and 15 rebounds, dominating the Warriors for stretches.
She also finished the game eight-of-eight from the free throw line.
"We knew going into it that we outsized them," Blackman said. "The goal that we talked about all week in practice was utilizing our advantage of Leanna in the post and making a concerted effort to get it in to her."
The Eagles opened the fourth with two quick buckets to retake the lead, but a three by Danville junior Chelsea Gould quickly ended the would-be run.
Danville controlled the pace and led by three with less than 30 seconds remaining.
The Eagles wrapped up Danville sophomore Allie Lake, who calmly sank both free throws.
Needing five points, Birt drove straight to the rim. She made a lay-up from the left side, and got fouled in the process.
Fifteen seconds remained, Birt missed her free throw attempt, then managed to secure her own rebound.
Birt slipped in and locked in a shared possession.
The jump-ball arrow pointed back to SPHS and Blackman drew up her last-chance play.
"We were just going to stack it up and try to get Mallory (Cash) for a three," SPHS coach Lindsey Blackman said. "If she wasn't open, then we were going to get it to Brooke (Cundiff) on the wing and hopefully Mattie (Varvel) stepping in from the out of bounds line for a three pointer.
"It got reversed and we couldn't get it back to a shooter."
The Eagles are back in action on Tuesday, Dec. 4 at South Vermillion at 7:30 p.m.
At South Putnam
Danville -- 17 8 12 16 -- 53
South Putnam -- 9 18 7 16 --50
Individual Scoring
Danville: Gould 6-9 FG, 4-10 FT, 16 PT; Lake 5-17, 4-6, 15; Taylor 5-8, 1-1, 11; Gerdts 2-9, 2-8, 6; Newby 1-5, 1-2, 3; Lynch 1-4, 0-2, 2; Motter 0-3, 0-0, 0; Ford 0-1, 0-0, 0.
South Putnam: Masters 6-11, 8-8, 20; Cash 5-15, 2-5, 16; Varvel 3-11, 2-5, 8; Birt 2-4, 0-1, 4; Nichols 0-2, 2-2, 2; Cundiff 0-2, 0-2, 0; Whitaker 0-3, 0-0, 0; Barnes 0-1, 0-0, 0; York 0-0, 0-0, 0.
Team Scoring
Danville: 20-56, 9-24, 53.
South Putnam: 16-49, 14-23, 50.
Three-pointers
Danville: 4-13
South Putnam: 4-11
Turnovers
Danville: 19
South Putnam: 29
Rebounds
Danville: 30
South Putnam: 44
North Putnam board unveils new redistricting plan
Friday, November 30, 2012
BAINBRIDGE -- Facing a lawsuit, the North Putnam School Board was given a Nov. 30 deadline to produce a plan for corporation-wide voter redistricting.
That plan was presented and approved at a special board meeting on Thursday.
Beginning with the 2014 election, the North Putnam board will be composed of two at-large members and five district representatives.
These new districts will no longer be divided exclusively by townships, but instead will be combinations of existing election voting precincts.
The districts will be divided as follows:
* Russell precinct and Clinton precinct will combine and have one seat on the board.
* Franklin North will combine with Jackson and have one seat.
* Franklin South will combine with Monroe (East and West) and have one seat.
* Floyd South will combine with Floyd West and have one seat.
* Floyd East will have one seat.
The two other seats will be elected by at-large voters, however, they are "restricted."
The Restricted East member will reside in either Jackson or Floyd Township, but be voted on in the entire corporation.
The Restricted West member will reside in Monroe, Clinton, Russell or Franklin Township, but be voted on in the entire corporation.
In order roll out the new plan, all of the existing terms will now end on Dec. 31, 2014, with the exception of the current at-large seat.
The board could potentially have six new board members begin terms on Jan. 1, 2015.
The current at-large seat, held by Mark Hoke, will convert to the Restricted West seat and runs from Jan. 1, 2014 until Dec. 31, 2017.
Other seats that were elected to four-year terms this past election -- Russell, Monroe and Franklin -- have now been changed to two-year terms.
"Our board has worked very, very hard on a recommendation," North Putnam Superintendent Dan Noel said. "I think it's a good plan for everybody, and it really gets us equal representation for everybody."
In October, North Putnam was sued by the American Civil Liberties Union and a voter in Floyd Township for failing to provide equal representation and voting power to everyone in the corporation.
Noel said the new districts will have (according to 2010 census data) populations of 2,098, 2,095, 2,018, 2,170 and 1,841.
The smallest of these, Floyd East, is the fastest growing district in the corporation.
The new districts are also now within 3.2 percent of each other, considerably closer than the 31.2 percent margin in the previous system.
North Putnam board unveils new redistricting plan
That plan was presented and approved at a special board meeting on Thursday.
Beginning with the 2014 election, the North Putnam board will be composed of two at-large members and five district representatives.
These new districts will no longer be divided exclusively by townships, but instead will be combinations of existing election voting precincts.
The districts will be divided as follows:
* Russell precinct and Clinton precinct will combine and have one seat on the board.
* Franklin North will combine with Jackson and have one seat.
* Franklin South will combine with Monroe (East and West) and have one seat.
* Floyd South will combine with Floyd West and have one seat.
* Floyd East will have one seat.
The two other seats will be elected by at-large voters, however, they are "restricted."
The Restricted East member will reside in either Jackson or Floyd Township, but be voted on in the entire corporation.
The Restricted West member will reside in Monroe, Clinton, Russell or Franklin Township, but be voted on in the entire corporation.
In order roll out the new plan, all of the existing terms will now end on Dec. 31, 2014, with the exception of the current at-large seat.
The board could potentially have six new board members begin terms on Jan. 1, 2015.
The current at-large seat, held by Mark Hoke, will convert to the Restricted West seat and runs from Jan. 1, 2014 until Dec. 31, 2017.
Other seats that were elected to four-year terms this past election -- Russell, Monroe and Franklin -- have now been changed to two-year terms.
"Our board has worked very, very hard on a recommendation," North Putnam Superintendent Dan Noel said. "I think it's a good plan for everybody, and it really gets us equal representation for everybody."
In October, North Putnam was sued by the American Civil Liberties Union and a voter in Floyd Township for failing to provide equal representation and voting power to everyone in the corporation.
Noel said the new districts will have (according to 2010 census data) populations of 2,098, 2,095, 2,018, 2,170 and 1,841.
The smallest of these, Floyd East, is the fastest growing district in the corporation.
The new districts are also now within 3.2 percent of each other, considerably closer than the 31.2 percent margin in the previous system.
Late shot falls short for Eagles
South Putnam senior Brooke Cundiff (left) steals the ball from Danville junior Haley Lynch in the game on Wednesday night. The Eagles dropped to 3-3 for the season with the loss.
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
Senior Brittany Birt was left partially open and gunned up her first three-point attempt of the game.
The shot came up short and the Eagles lost to the Danville Warriors, 53-50.
The Eagles were stymied by Danville's full-court press in the first quarter. Though SPHS had a significant height advantage, the Warriors quickness seemed to frustrate the home team.
SPHS turned the ball over 11 times in the quarter and trailed 17-9.
"We got overwhelmed with their pressure and we looked intimidated to even try to bring the ball up the court," Blackman said. "The plan was to beat (the press) and avoid the sideline. We didn't quite carry that through, and that's something we need to work on in practice."
South Putnam senior Mallory Cash (21) skies over Danville defenders Meghan Gerdts (10) and Whitney Taylor.
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
SPHS picked up the tempo in the second quarter, inserting senior Brooke Cundiff in the lineup.
The Eagles went on an 18-8 run in the quarter to take a one-point lead into halftime.
"Sometimes through the course of a game you figure out that it's kind of what you need to do," Blackman said. "Tonight we had a matchup defensively. They were quicker team than we were if we played with our two posts, so we went with a four guard, one post lineup to try to be able to match up with them defensively."
The higher tempo continued in the third quarter, but the Eagles' troubles with the press returned.
Nine more turnovers in the period caught up to South Putnam, and they trailed by three entering the fourth.
Were it not for the significant advantage in rebounding and second chance points, the deficit could have been much worse.
SPHS senior Leanna Masters had game highs with 20 points (on 11 shots) and 15 rebounds, dominating the Warriors for stretches.
She also finished the game eight-of-eight from the free throw line.
"We knew going into it that we outsized them," Blackman said. "The goal that we talked about all week in practice was utilizing our advantage of Leanna in the post and making a concerted effort to get it in to her."
The Eagles opened the fourth with two quick buckets to retake the lead, but a three by Danville junior Chelsea Gould quickly ended the would-be run.
Danville controlled the pace and led by three with less than 30 seconds remaining.
The Eagles wrapped up Danville sophomore Allie Lake, who calmly sank both free throws.
Needing five points, Birt drove straight to the rim. She made a lay-up from the left side, and got fouled in the process.
Fifteen seconds remained, Birt missed her free throw attempt, then managed to secure her own rebound.
Birt slipped in and locked in a shared possession.
The jump-ball arrow pointed back to SPHS and Blackman drew up her last-chance play.
"We were just going to stack it up and try to get Mallory (Cash) for a three," SPHS coach Lindsey Blackman said. "If she wasn't open, then we were going to get it to Brooke (Cundiff) on the wing and hopefully Mattie (Varvel) stepping in from the out of bounds line for a three pointer.
"It got reversed and we couldn't get it back to a shooter."
The Eagles are back in action on Tuesday, Dec. 4 at South Vermillion at 7:30 p.m.
At South Putnam
Danville -- 17 8 12 16 -- 53
South Putnam -- 9 18 7 16 --50
Individual Scoring
Danville: Gould 6-9 FG, 4-10 FT, 16 PT; Lake 5-17, 4-6, 15; Taylor 5-8, 1-1, 11; Gerdts 2-9, 2-8, 6; Newby 1-5, 1-2, 3; Lynch 1-4, 0-2, 2; Motter 0-3, 0-0, 0; Ford 0-1, 0-0, 0.
South Putnam: Masters 6-11, 8-8, 20; Cash 5-15, 2-5, 16; Varvel 3-11, 2-5, 8; Birt 2-4, 0-1, 4; Nichols 0-2, 2-2, 2; Cundiff 0-2, 0-2, 0; Whitaker 0-3, 0-0, 0; Barnes 0-1, 0-0, 0; York 0-0, 0-0, 0.
Team Scoring
Danville: 20-56, 9-24, 53.
South Putnam: 16-49, 14-23, 50.
Three-pointers
Danville: 4-13
South Putnam: 4-11
Turnovers
Danville: 19
South Putnam: 29
Rebounds
Danville: 30
South Putnam: 44
Cougars get rolled by Riverton Parke
North Putnam junior Madi Asbell finds a rare hole in the Riverton Parke defense to attempt an open layup. (Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN [Order this photo]
Even if they're graded on a curve, Tuesday's game against the No. 2 rated 1A team in the state proved to be nearly impossible to pass.
The Cougars (1-6) lost 73-23, but continued to play with passion, something that has overcome several of the Panthers (6-1) previous opponents this year.
"(The Panthers) are a solid ball club," North Putnam head coach Curtis Lawrence said. "They're doing this to everybody they play this year."
NPHS fell behind 26-5 after the first quarter and attempted only four shots.
Riverton Parke's rebounding and quickness, at times, prevented the Cougars from even inbounding the ball or getting a shot attempt.
NPHS made gradual improvements in the second period, going three-of-eight from the field, but the half ended with them trailing 46-12.
Riverton Parke seniors Sara Dickey and Paige Yando each had 18 points at the break.
"We started out in a box-and-one against Dickey; we had to switch to man-to-man when they started pulling the ball out," Lawrence said. "She's a nice player. She's going to Evansville next year to play."
Though they couldn't narrow the gap, the Cougars aggressiveness frustrated the Panthers in the second half.
Cayla Kientz's defense on Dickey slowed her down, and the switch to man-to-man defense prevented the open outside shots that the Cougars were getting in the first half.
NPHS drew seven fouls in the third period, mostly out of frustration by Riverton Parke.
"Did we play 32 minutes of solid defense? No," Lawrence said. "Did we do enough things offensively to win? No.
"But those things are going to come. You get better playing good teams, and Riverton Parke is a very good ball club."
The effort fell short, but NPHS isn't the only school to succumb to Riverton Parke.
Tuesday the fourth time in seven games the Panthers have won by at least 40 points.
Yando finished with a game-high 26. Dickey had 24.
The Cougars were led in scoring by junior Madi Asbell's nine, followed by junior Bethany Wiatt's six.
Senior Sam Lucas led the Cougars with seven rebounds.
At North Putnam
Riverton Parke -- 26 20 15 12 -- 73
North Putnam -- 5 7 7 6 -- 25
Individual scoring
Riverton Parke: Yando 10-20 FG, 5-9 FT, 26; Dickey 11-22, 0-2, 24; S. Virostko 4-11, 0-0, 8; Austin 3-5, 0-0, 6; Pollard 2-7, 0-0, 5; E. Virostko 1-4, 0-0, 2; Benell 1-2, 0-0, 0; Combs 0-2, 0-0, 0; Wood 0-1, 0-0, 0.
North Putnam: Asbell 3-7, 2-5, 9; Wiatt 3-8, 0-1, 6; Lucas 1-4, 3-6, 5; Land 2-3, 0-0, 4; Smith 0-5, 1-2, 1; Kientz 0-2, 0-1, 0; Heron 0-6, 0-0, 0; Nauert 0-0, 0-0, 0; Pitcock 0-0, 0-0, 0.
Team scoring
Riverton Parke: 32-73, 5-11, 73
North Putnam: 8-27, 6-16, 25
Dorman's last-second follow gives Cloverdale boys first win
Cloverdale junior Brandon Dorman (23) drives to the basket for a layup. His tip-in as time expired against Riverton Parke gave the team its first win of the season.
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
Dorman's shot came after junior forward Kedrick Collet raced the length of the court in under four seconds, got all the way to the basket and had his game-winning attempt rattle out.
In one motion, Dorman grabbed the rebound and put his shot up.
"When you win a one-point ball game, every kid has done something that we wouldn't have won if he hadn't done it," CHS head coach Pat Rady said. "It's a team win."
With a first half that saw the Clovers make only six-of-20 shots (30 percent), they were lucky to even be in position to get the win.
"I think the shooting will come," Rady said. "Maybe the shot selection, at times, might be a factor. But some of it is just good, hard practice; coming in and putting a lot of shots up in the morning or staying after practice. Shooting is just muscle memory and reflex."
It took more than four minutes for CHS to get on the board -- a three-point basket from junior Kade Schroer ending the drought -- and the team scored just five points in the opening period.
Schroer had a team-high 12 points (four-of-seven threes).
Although the offense failed to show up in the first half, solid defense was constant throughout.
Cloverdale mixed in a 2-3 zone to compliment its 1-2-2, which helped the team use its length and versatility as an advantage.
"We worked on defense the two days that we had (of practice since Tuesday's game)," Rady said. "We put that (2-3 zone) in after the game against North Central.
"We're still learning. We've got a lot of things to learn and we've got to have patience."
CHS trailed at halftime, 18-14, but found its offensive rhythm early in the third quarter.
The Clovers sank their first three shots and finished the period seven-of-11 from the field, taking a 31-27 lead into the fourth.
The Panthers used a drive-and-kick attack and retook the lead, 39-38, on a jump shot by senior Brendon Bovair with 1:40 left.
Cloverdale answered on the next trip as Schroer sank his fourth three of the game to retake the lead.
Bovair, who finished with 16 points, then ran to the left corner and sank another three with less than a minute left.
Cloverdale sophomore Brantson Scott (32) draws a foul from Riverton Parke sophomore Tanner Edge late in their game on Saturday. Scott made both free throws to give the Clovers the lead in the final minute.
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
Riverton Parke called another timeout to set up its final play.
Scott sank both free throws, giving his team a 43-42 lead with 43 seconds left.
The Panthers inbounded, advanced the ball then worked the clock to under 10 seconds. Senior Matt Haltom, who finished with a game-high 20 points, sank a contested 15-foot jumper from the top of the key.
Sans timeout, Cloverdale inbounded the ball with seven seconds remaining on the ticking clock.
Collet raced the length of the court, and Dorman's follow gave his team the lead.
"I'm not a big believer in calling timeout because I think the defense has a chance to set up," Rady said. "(Collet's) instincts were to take it to the basket and we had a great kid that followed. I'm a great believer of, when you're only down one, you take the ball to the hole."
The hands-off approach worked, giving the Clovers their first win and momentum going into Friday's Putnam County Classic.
"I wasn't really getting after the kids tonight," Rady said. "I wanted the kids to play hard, play smart, hustle and smile."
At Riverton Parke
Cloverdale -- 5 9 17 14 -- 45
Riverton Parke -- 8 10 9 17 -- 44
Individual Scoring
Cloverdale: Schroer 4-9 FG, 0-0 FT, 12; Cummings 4-7, 3-3, 11; Scott 3-5, 2-2, 8; Dorman 3-11, 0-0, 6; Collet 2-9, 0-0, 4; Cupp 2-3, 0-1, 4; Hughes 0-1, 0-0, 0.
Riverton Parke: Haltom 6-16, 5-6, 20; Bovair 6-16, 1-2, 16; Mathas 1-4, 2-3, 5; Sanders 1-6, 0-0, 2; Organ 1-4, 0-0, 2; Edge 0-4, 0-0, 0; Falls 0-1, 0-0, 0.
Team scoring
Cloverdale: 18-45, 5-6, 45.
Riverton Parke: 15-50, 7-10, 44.
Three-point shooting
Cloverdale 4-13, Riverton Parke 7-21
Turnovers
Cloverdale 14, Riverton Parke 12
Rebounds
Cloverdale 21, Riverton Parke 22
Current Eagles infielder signs to join Miami U. Red Hawks
South Putnam senior Jenna Jones (front, center) signs her national letter of intent to join the Miami University Redhawks softball team for the 2014 season. She is joined by (front, from left) her sister Jessica Jones, mother Anita Jones, (back, from left) assistant coach Lindsey Blackman, father Jason Jones and head coach Chris Jones.
(Courtesy photo)
(Courtesy photo)
SPHS senior Jenna Jones, an infielder for the Eagles, recently signed her letter of intent to play softball at Miami University.
"It was between Ball State and Miami," Jones said of her choice between the two Mid-American Conference rivals. "When I saw the (Miami campus), I fell in love with it.
"(The coaches) said, 'Come for a visit.' They made me an offer. In learning about the school, I fell in love with it. The coaches that were there, I fell in love with."
Jones' recruitment wasn't typical.
She never contacted the school, as she had other places.
"It all happened within a month," Jones said. "I went and played a game there, they saw me -- liked me -- and watched me again.
"I went to a camp, they watched me at one more tournament. It was all within four weeks."
Jones went on her official visit this summer, received a scholarship offer from the coaches, and two days later made her decision. It was Miami.
Then the coaches that recruited her left.
The school agreed to honor her scholarship offer, but the other 2013 recruits decommitted. Jones had a school but no coach.
"It was me waiting. 'Who is this new coach going to be? I hope she likes me,'" Jones said. "I think everything happens for a reason. I'm a big believer in that. So when my coaches left, I was like, 'OK, this happened for a reason. I just have to wait and see what it is.'"
In August the Red Hawks hired Clarisa Crowell, an assistant at Oklahoma State, to be the new head coach.
"The first time I talked to Coach C., we talked for like an hour and a half on the phone," Jones said. "After I talked to coach C. and after I met her, I knew that's why (I waited)."
Jones said she is focused on working hard now so she can do everything she can to put herself in position to play as a freshman at Miami.
She hit .395 last year with five home runs, and will look to improve on that as she takes on a leadership role with the Eagles this spring.
Jones plans to major in sports, leadership and management (SLAM) while playing for the Red Hawks, and hopes to become a graduate assistant while she attends law school after her playing career ends.
Filtration project now under way at Russellville
The system is expected to be operational by the end of the year.
"Hopefully you'll see a big change in the water quality," council president Don Reddish said. "Hopefully not too much change in taste. We've always had good tasting water."
The previous filtration system, which was several decades old, broke early this year, which the Reddish said has led to imbalanced chlorination.
The town received a loan recently and accepted a bid from Spear Corp. for $106,710 last month to start the project.
The council also discussed a number of other issues in town.
Discussion centered on the collapsed building entering Russellville.
Attorney Jim Ensley said he believes it is realistic to see progress before 2013.
Streetlights that have been turning on and off were discussed again. In several previous meetings this year, and clerk-treasurer DeVon Davis said she would again call Duke Energy -- something she has done twice previously.
Other improvements in town have come from more positive circumstances.
Ali Elmore, a student at North Putnam Middle School student, recently won $150 in anessay contest and pledged to donate it to the town so it could be used for new basketball goals in the park.
"You've done a great job and everyone in Russellville is very proud of you," Reddish told her. "We'll get going as soon as possible."
In other business:
* The council set holiday hours for the town office. The office was closed on Thanksgiving and Nov. 22, and will be closed on Dec. 24-26 and Dec. 31-Jan. 2.
* A North Putnam bus driver has been having issues with trees hanging over the roadway on her route, but Reddish said he believes a changed route will correct the problem.
North Putnam High School unveils A grade to students
North Putnam High School students (from left) sophomore Michael Roberts, junior Sam Brock,freshman senior Nick Bishop and Morgan Robinson learn the importance of working together by searching the court blindfolded. The school held an assembly Tuesday to celebrate everyone's contribution to the IDOE-issued A grade.
On Tuesday the school held an assembly where Chew commended the students and faculty for its hard work during the past year.
"When you apply for college, they may ask, 'What is your school's letter grade, and how does that reflect on you?'" Chew said to the students.
Grades are measured using four sets of criteria, he explained: math standardized test scores, English scores, graduation rate and college readiness.
The A grade was the highest in the school corporation this year.
Chew had the student body president, senior Katie Welch, and history teacher Tom Roach unveil the grade, and Chew said the A would be posted in the front of the building.
Tiger Cubs lose opener to Crawfordsville
GHS senior Nick Gilliam takes a charge from Crawfordsville's Chandler Pursell. The Tiger Cubs took three offensive fouls as a team, but it wasn't enough as they lost the 2012-13 season opener, 66-54.(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
Those showed in the season opener at Crawfordsville, as the Tiger Cubs lost 66-54.
Senior Nick Gilliam led the team in scoring with 16 points.
"This is the first time this group has played together," GHS head coach Troy Greenlee said. "I was very pleased with how our kids fought. I thought they fought the whole game. We got down a couple times in the first half, but we didn't give in."
The Athenians held a 9-2 lead midway through the first quarter, but Greencastle battled back.
Gilliam had nine in the quarter, making four-of-four free throws and staying active on both ends.
The team's defense stayed strong but Crawfordsville used a sporadic half court trap that flustered Greencastle's young guards.
The Tiger Cubs turned the ball over six times in the quarter, with many leading to easy buckets, and, in one case, an intentional foul call on a made layup.
Crawfordsville senior Chandler Pursell took a steal coast-to-coast then dropped in a layup as he absorbed a hard foul from GHS senior Nate Christy.
"It's hard to simulate that (trapping defense) in practice," Greenlee said. "I think maybe there are some things we can do X- and O-wise, or maybe personnel-wise, but it's just a matter of getting that experience."
Though they are leaders on the court, Greencastle's upperclassmen -- Gilliam, Christy and junior Holden King -- are not primary ball handlers or distributers for the offense.
Instead the team relies on a group of sophomores to handle the job, and their performance was inconsistent.
Athenian senior Jordan Jackson took the point defensively and came away with seven steals in the game. He also had a team-high 13 points.
Hot shooting by the Tiger Cubs (five-of-eight field goals) got the team back in the game in the second quarter.
King hit back-to-back threes late in the period to tie the game, and Greencastle trailed by only one at the half, 28-27.
Foul trouble soon caught up with both teams and each was in the bonus by the end of the third period.
Greencastle made only six-of-18 in the half, and Crawfordsville 16-25.
That free throw disparity was too much for the youthful Tiger Cubs to overcome and the game drifted away.
"I thought that was the difference in the game," Greenlee said. "We put them to the line way too much and they seemed to hit everything. We just didn't hit the shots at the line like we should have."
Sophomores Lane Winslow (eight points, five rebounds, two steals) and Calvin Hughes (seven points, three rebounds, one assist, one steal) showed flashes as playmakers off the bench, which GHS will need going forward.
The Tiger Cubs return to action next Friday when they host the County Classic.
At Crawfordsville
Greencastle -- 10 17 12 15 -- 54
Crawfordsville -- 15 13 17 21 -- 66
Individual scoring
Greencastle: Gilliam 7-13 FT, 4-8 FG, 16 TP; King 6-8, 3-6, 15; Winslow 2-5, 3-7, 8; Hughes 0-0, 3-7, 7; Mitchell 0-1, 1-2, 3; Bollman 0-0, 1-2, 2; Gerard 0-2, 1-1, 2; Christy 1-2, 0-3, 1; Foxx 0-0, 0-1, 0; Coble 0-0, 0-0, 0.
Crawfordsville -- Jackson 3-7, 4-10, 13; Pursell 5-6, 3-7, 12; Horner 1-2, 5-6, 12; Page 5-6, 3-7, 11; Conrad 5-6, 1-3, 7; Kidd 1-2, 2-3, 5; Turpin 0-0, 0-1, 0; Schafer 0-0, 0-0, 0; Miller 0-0, 0-0, 0.
Three pointers
Greencastle 6-12, Crawfordsville 3-13
Fouls
Greencastle 23, Crawfordsville 23
Turnovers
Greencastle 24, Crawfordsville 17
Amis, Stoltey key second half rally for Greencastle
Greencastle sophomore Taylor Stoltey attempts to finish a layup in traffic in the fourth quarter. Her two three-point plays helped key the Tiger Cubs to a 44-37 win over Crawfordsville on Tuesday.
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
(Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN) [Order this photo]
Stoltey had 11 of the Tiger Cubs' 22 second half points, but Amis' defense keyed the attack.
GHS coach Bradley Key said both Stoltey and Amis played well enough to be considered the player of the game.
The Athenians were led in scoring by junior Kassidy Bonebrake (19 points, five-of-seven threes), but she was held scoreless after the break.
Crawfordsville was held scoreless for nearly seven minutes to start the third quarter.
"That's purely because of Rayleigh Amis," Key said. "A lot of heart in that senior."
GHS led 12-10 after the first quarter, but Bonebrake came off the bench to spark an Athenian run and give her team a 25-22 lead at the half.
Bonebrake's three-pointers kept dropping, even as she drifted further and further outside the arc. Key said he expected her to start missing so he waited to switch from the team's 2-3 zone defense.
GHS marked Bonebrake with Amis to start the second half, and Bonebrake went 0-for-3 for the rest of the game.
The Tiger Cubs defense stepped up, but the offense lagged. Sophomore Jessica Lenihan had 10 points in the first half but the Athenians adjusted to keep her out of the paint.
That's when Stoltey emerged.
"She is a great athlete," Key said. "Yeah, she scored, and that shows up in the box score, but she goes after the ball. That's why she's out there."
In one key stretch early in the third quarter, Stoltey scored on a layup, got fouled and sank her free throw. On the next possession, she got a steal at the top of the key, went end-to-end and forced another three-point play attempt.
Stoltey finished with 13 points, with 11 coming after halftime.
Lenihan led the team with 14.
With Greencastle up six and 19 seconds to play, the Athenians sent junior Shelby Earl to the line for a one-and-one. The shot rimmed out, but junior Alex Basile shot in to scoop up the rebound and iced the game.
"Having a player like Basile on the floor just makes your team better," Key said. " She is a winner, and that's what winners do. She will do everything we need her to."
Greencastle (4-3) will play next at Tri-West on Tuesday, Nov. 27.
At Greencastle
Crawfordsville -- 10 15 4 8 -- 37
Greencastle -- 12 10 8 14 -- 44
Individual scoring
Crawfordsville -- Bonebrake 19; Hutson 6; Brooks 4; Garrett 4; Hampton 2; Luft 2. 0-0 FT, 15-56 FG (5-9 3P) -- 37 TP
Greencastle -- Lenihan 14; Stoltey 13; Basile 5; Earl 4; Amis 4; Smiley 4. 6-11 FT, 18-51 FG (2-10 3P) -- 44 TP
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