On paper, Tuesday’s girls basketball season opener between Plainfield and Center Grove shaped up as a must-see battle between two teams with sky-high expectations.
On the floor, it was a typical early November game — chock full of miscues and wayward shots. But what the evening lacked in polish it more than made up for in drama.
Riley Blackwell’s free throws with 3.2 seconds left represented the ninth lead change in the final 4:41 and lifted the visiting Quakers, ranked No. 8 in the IBCA preseason coaches poll, to a 47-46 victory.
The loss was a disappointment for the Trojans, but not enough to overshadow the positives the team took from its first outing.
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Click here to purchase photos from this gallery“We’re upset with the loss,” junior Cassidy Hardin said, “but we’re not upset by any means with how we played.”
Center Grove (0-1) had pulled ahead on a 3-pointer with 1:16 remaining by Madelyn Bitterling, who led all scorers with 16 points. The Trojans forced a turnover on Plainfield’s next possession but gave the ball back with 13.1 seconds to go, and Blackwell was fouled on an offensive rebound to help the Quakers — who outscored Center Grove at the foul line by a 15-3 count — escape.
“We realize that literally every single play counts, and we just made silly little mistakes,” Bitterling said. “We’re tired of being close and not winning.”
Hardin scored all 10 of her points after halftime for the Trojans. Blackwell and Kayla Casteel, both named Indiana Junior All-Stars after last season, led Plainfield with 15 and 13 points, respectively.
Center Grove relied on its defense early. After falling into a quick 5-0 hole, the Trojans crept back by holding the Quakers scoreless for 7 minutes and 57 seconds, taking a 9-5 lead at the outset of the second quarter on a 3-pointer by Val Clark.
The offensive struggles continued at both ends, with each side enduring a drought of more than four minutes in the second quarter.
Clark and Bitterling had the closest things to a hot hand in a low-scoring first half, combining for 12 of the Trojans’ first 16 points. Bitterling’s three-point play with 5:13 left in the second period broke an 11-11 tie and paved the way for the Trojans to go into the break with a 16-15 edge.
Center Grove coach Shawn Sanders knows that in order for his team to achieve the goals it has in mind, it will have to close out a win against a ranked team sooner or later.
“Everybody in the state respects those guys, and nobody in the state respects us right now,” he stated. “We’ve made it our motto that if you want to be respected, you’ve got to earn the respect.”
Still, Sanders added, the Trojans aren’t far off.
“I thought we played well enough to win,” he said. “I thought we made enough good plays to win.”
