Woodmen earn win

Holly Hoopingarner proved too much for Plainfield to handle, all 5 feet, 4 inches of her.

Greenwood’s quick junior guard scored 32 points to lead the Woodmen to a 62-59 victory against Plainfield on Wednesday night in the Mid-State Conference opener for both teams. The Quakers fell to 3-1 while Greenwood’s record improved to 3-2. The Woodmen had lost two in a row.

Hoopingarner hit 16 of 18 free throws. Kayla Casteel led Plainfield with 16 and Riley Blackwell added 14.

Greenwood grabbed a 7-2 lead before the Quakers rallied to take an 11-10 lead after the first quarter. Maddie O’Day hit Plainfield’s first basket with 2:16 left in the first quarter. Samantha Melton quickly added a 3-pointer to tie at 7-all.

The Quakers scored the first five points of the second quarter, capped by Kyndall Spears’ three-point play, to expand the lead to 16-10. Greenwood came back to hold a 21-12 edge the rest of the half to grab a 31-28 lead at intermission.

Hoopingarner did most of the damage, scoring 14 points in the quarter. Rachel Cox’s 3-pointer gave the Woodmen a 29-26 lead. After Plainfield’s Casteel failed to convert a three-point play by missing a free throw, Hoopingarner scored her final two points of the quarter.

Spears’ layup gave the Quakers a 35-33 lead midway through the third quarter. After Cox scored to tie it, Plainfield went on a 7-0 run to take a 42-35 lead with help from a couple of Woodmen turnovers. Blackwell had five points in the spurt, including a 3-pointer. Greenwood closed the gap to 45-41 by the end of the quarter.

Plainfield scored the first two baskets of the fourth quarter to push the lead to 49-41. Hoopingarner followed with two free throws and a basket to trim the lead to four once again. After a lone free throw by Blackwell, Greenwood cut the lead to 50-48 on three-point play by Hoopingarner with 3:46 to go. Casteel’s three-point play gave Plainfield a 53-48 with 3:16 to lead.

Greenwood rallied to tie it at 57-all on two free throws by Hoopingarner with 1 1/2 minutes to go. With 1:13 to go, Hoopingarner hit the second of two free throws to give Greenwood a 58-57 lead. After a lone free throw by Hoopingarner, Hoopingarner added two more to make to 61-57 with 16.3 seconds left. Cox added one free throw with five seconds left and the Quakers scored at the buzzer.

The Woodmen will play at Mooresville in Mid-State action at 12:30 p.m. Saturday. Plainfield will host Franklin (3-2) at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.