The best way to combat a dismal shooting performance is to lock down on defense.
Greenwood was twice guilty on Tuesday night in its 40-18 victory at Greenwood Christian in a first-round game of the annual Johnson County tournament.
The Woodmen made good on only 12 of 52 field goal attempts (23.1%) but harassed the Cougars into an unsightly number of turnovers (37) that eventually helped them improve to 3-2 and qualify for Thursday’s 6 p.m. semifinal against Indian Creek.
“Luckily, in the second half, our defense did step it up a little bit,” Greenwood coach Justin Bennett said. “I thought we came out in the first half really flat. Shots didn’t fall. But a win is a win.
“All we can do is come back and try to prepare and get ready for Indian Creek. Defensively, they’re really good, they play together and they’ve got a lot of weapons.”
The Cougars (1-4) were the aggressor early, taking an 8-2 lead midway through the opening quarter and maintaining an 11-7 advantage after one.
Greenwood senior wing Ella Stivers scored in close to open a second stanza that saw the visitors score 10 points while holding GCA scoreless. It appeared the same thing might happen in the third, but with the Woodmen ahead, 23-11, the Cougars finally ended their long scoring drought.
GCA junior guard Sydney Waldron accounted for five points in the final 1:33 to make things interesting.
Eight consecutive points by Greenwood to start the fourth quarter — a Lily Howe layup, a hoop from Stivers and Howe’s baseline 3-pointer — provided some breathing room for the visitors, who coasted home.
Stivers paced the Woodmen with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Howe added eight points and senior guard Emily Metzger chipped in six. Waldron tied Stivers for scoring honors by leading the Cougars with 12 points of her own to go along with a game-high 11 boards.
Indian Creek (3-0), ranked sixth in Class 3A and fresh off Tuesday’s 10-point win at reigning 4A state runner-up Franklin, will present a major challenge for Greenwood.
The Woodmen, however, look forward to the challenge.
“We’re definitely going to have to work hard in practice because defensively we are going to have to bring it together,” Stivers said. “They have some good shooters on the team, so again, we’re going to have to bring it defensively.”
Despite the loss, first-year Greenwood Christian coach Tiffany Smith-Clements was happy with her squad’s effort, particularly at the outset.
“I think our lack of experience showed in the second, third and fourth quarters,” she said. “I was proud of our effort, but I think we have some work to do offensively and conditioning-wise.”
