INDIANAPOLIS
Defensively, a young Greenwood girls basketball team is doing what it needs to do to be competitive on a nightly basis.
The Woodmen still have some catching up to do at the other end.
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Click here to purchase photos from this galleryAn abundance of turnovers helped lead to some extended droughts that doomed Greenwood to a 55-36 defeat Wednesday night.
“We’ve got to learn to compete all the time,” Greenwood coach Lee Taft said. “Not when we want to, not when we’re not tired. If you’re on the floor and you’re tired, you’ve got to play. That’s what we’re trying to find right now.”
The Woodmen (3-7) took an early 5-2 lead on baskets by Sarah DeCastro and Ryan Bauer, but the offense stalled for a bit, and the Falcons took advantage of the slack with an 11-0 run during the next four minutes. Following an Alex Kincaid 3-pointer, Perry Meridian put together seven more points to close the first quarter with a 20-8 cushion.
Solid halfcourt defense enabled Greenwood to stay within shouting distance; the Woodmen yielded just six points in the second quarter, closing the gap to 26-19 by the half.
Alas, the visitors couldn’t get enough going at the offensive end to get closer. Perry Meridian (3-4) scored the first eight points of the third quarter, the beginning of a 14-3 surge that stretched the Falcons’ lead to 40-22 at the 3:25 mark of the period.
“Fundamentally, we’re not that good yet,” said Taft, who watched his team commit more than 20 turnovers. “We make a lot of silly mistakes, entries and stuff. Ball fakes, we’re not that good at; if I want to get it to you, I can’t look at you, because everybody in the gym’s looking at you, too.
“But we’ll get there. We’re building. It’s halfway through the season; we’ve just got a lot of work to do.”
Bauer paced the Woodmen with seven points, while DeCastro and Leah Moore had six apiece. Melody Johnson and Sadie Hill each finished with 19 points for Perry Meridian.
