Chopping down trees seems kind of apropos since Greenwood’s nickname is the Woodmen.
No actual trees were harmed in the first round of the annual Johnson County girls basketball tournament on Tuesday, but the Woodmen chopped Franklin down to size, 68-51, for their first win of the season.
Greenwood (1-4) will face Center Grove in a 10 a.m. semifinal Saturday at Indian Creek.
“We always talk about chopping wood,” Greenwood coach Justin Bennett said. “And that’s been the narrative — let’s keep chopping wood and that tree is going to fall right over. These girls were hungry for a win, they did it together, they got it and it was awesome to be a part of.”
Even more remarkable, and a big surprise to Bennett when informed of the fact, was that Greenwood did it without hitting a field goal in the third quarter.
It was free throws, in addition to some great defense and some very timely 3-point shots in the fourth quarter, that afforded the Woodmen a win in that kind of situation.
Greenwood made 25 free throws.
Junior Brooklyn Stubblefield nearly had half of Greenwood’s free throws. She was a perfect 12 for 12 from the line and totaled a career-high 31 points.
“I’m tired of losing,” Stubblefield said. “It’s not fun, and to get a win, especially against a good team like Franklin, it gives us confidence and shows us we play as a team and can win.”
At the start, it appeared Franklin was going to win in a rout. The Cubs’ shooting sparkled, as they hit four of their first five 3-pointers and raced out to a 12-3 lead.
Franklin couldn’t sustain it, though, and Stubblefield hit two straight from beyond to arc to keep the Woodmen in the game.
Greenwood kept up its hot shooting with a 24-point second quarter to take a 12-point halftime lead.
Unfortunately for the Woodmen, they couldn’t keep it going in the third, missing all five shots they took, but credit Franklin’s press for creating problems. Trouble was, the Grizzly Cubs couldn’t hit much of anything either, except for three short jumpers from Izzy Harrison, who came off the bench to provide a spark.
Franklin had pulled to within five points, but in the fourth, senior Ashley Buster hit two key 3s and freshman Ella Stivers showed the poise of a senior, canning a 3 to put the Woodmen back to a double-digit lead at 51-40.
“I thought Ashley did a great job. She was a great team leader and she did it all,” Bennett said.
Franklin could only get to within nine points as free throws and more clutch field goals kept the margin at a comfortable one.
Stubblefield was apparently not aware of the score and took a shot with 34 seconds left and with a 15-point lead. She immediately shouted “sorry” to Bennett, who could only laugh at the error.
“I think I was so excited, and I couldn’t slow down and thought I needed to score another basket,” Stubblefield said.
Jenna Sawyer added 13 points for the Woodmen.
For Franklin (2-2), the game was a big letdown, especially after knocking off 3A No. 7 Greensburg last Friday. The Grizzly Cubs were led by Megan Thompson’s 11 points.
Also hurting the Cubs besides cold shooting were turnovers. Franklin had a staggering 25 of them, a stat not lost on Franklin coach Josh Sabol.
“When you have really poor habits like passing, footwork, fouling on defense, those things catch up to you,” Sabol said. “Our habits were pathetic.”
