Defense got the job done for the South Greene girls on Saturday night as they handed North Greene its first loss of the year.
At different times it was the full-court press, half-court traps, and throwing double teams Hannah Miller in the paint, but they all made a difference as the Lady Rebels collected a 64-50 win.
“I’m pretty pleased overall. After playing last night I wondered how our legs would be, but the girls got after it in the press pretty much all night. We knew we couldn’t let them get into their halfcourt stuff, and to hold Hannah Miller to two points in the first half, with no field goals, was really big for us. We executed some things we wanted to defense, and we showed some poise late on offense to get the win.”
Early in the game the Lady Rebels struggled to figure out their offense, and a focus on Miller in the paint left shooters open on the outside. Loren Blevins started the night with a corner three, and then Kaydence hit from deep twice as North Greene took a 9-2 lead.
The Lady Rebels adjusted on defense had held North Greene scoreless for over four minutes, while on offense Kortnei Bailey, Natalie Foshie and Madison Hensley all hit from behind the arc for a 11-9 lead at the close of the quarter.
It was a 30-foot heave from Hensley with two seconds still on the clock that gave the Lady Rebels a boost of confidence that carried into the second quarter.
“That three by Madison fired everybody up,” Gregg said. “She just made something out of nothing. She knew how much time was left and had the confidence to jack it. It felt like that shot broke the tension after a slow start. We had to take the first few punches, but these girls answered.”
Three minutes into the second period Hensley turned a steal into a breakaway layup and then Ari Hoese pushed the pace to set up Hensley for another lay in that put South Greene in front 18-11.
North Greene struggled to find good looks from the field, but trips to the free-throw line let the Lady Huskies hang around. Unfortunately for the Lady Huskies they went 4-of-8 at the stripe which prevented them from cutting into the lead.
Hoese moved South Greene’s lead to double digits at 27-16 when she made three free throws with 49 seconds left.
Ella Head did close the gap to 27-19 before the horn when she sank a jump shot.
In the early minutes of the third quarter Bailey nailed a trey and Hoese got a mid-range jumper to fall for a 32-19 South Greene lead.
The Lady Huskies chipped away at the deficit and when Blevins hit consecutive triples the gap closed to 36-31.
Gregg then turned to a trapping defense that flustered the Lady Huskies and sparked South Greene’s offense. Hensley turned a steal into a quick two points, then Samantha Birdwell was fouled after another steal on the next possession. She made one free toss and put South Greene in front 43-33.
The rest of the third quarter was played at the free throw line, but South Greene took a 47-39 lead into the final frame.
That lead grew on the first possession of the fourth quarter when Hoese hit from behind the arc. Hoese struggled from the field in the first half, but she found her stroke in the second half, scoring 14 points and giving the Lady Rebels a big boost. She finished the game with 17 points.
“We have kids searching for confidence. They have the potential, but they need to do it,” Gregg said. “I hope this is a coming out game for Ari. She stepped up tonight from a scoring standpoint, and we had a lot of good things from a lot of girls. But Ari was confident and calling the for ball and I was excited to see that.”
A layup by Hoese with 4:19 left to play put South Greene up 57-41, while on the other end of the floor South Greene’s defense had not allowed a field goal to that point.
North Greene finally found some opportunities in the lane late, but South Greene’s lead was too much to overcome.
Bailey led all scorers with 21 points while Hoese finished with 17 and Hensley scored 16 points for South Greene.
For North Greene Blevins scored 15 points. Miller finished with 13 points, but they certainly did not come easy as she was the focus of South Greene’s defense all night.
