Woodmen get defensive in dominating win

<p>BLOOMINGTON</p><p>If Greenwood is going to experience the girls basketball season it desires, everyone on the roster is going to have to make an impact.</p><p>A 55-27 defeat of Bloomington North on Tuesday made for a nice start.</p><p>Using traps and three-quarter-court pressure, the Woodmen harassed the hosts into 29 turnovers, including 11 in the first quarter as Greenwood immediately took command in the season opener for both squads.</p><p>All in all, an impressive debut for first-year coach Justin Bennett.</p><p>“Coming into this, we made the decision that we were going to be an up-tempo team,” Bennett said. “We’re not very big, we’ve got some quick guards and we’ve got some smart kids. They play for each other. They play together.</p><p>“For us to be a little bit more competitive, since we’re not as tall, we’re going to have to get after people a little bit. Our agenda is to press as much as possible and share that basketball. We’ll be playing like that for the rest of the year.”</p><p>Sophomore Brooklyn Stubblefield led all scorers with 15 points for the Woodmen, while senior guard Bailee Taft was close behind with 14. Starters Ashley Buster and Sarah DeCastro continued the balance with seven points apiece, while sophomore forward Jenna Sawyer added six.</p><p>Greenwood has won six of the seven season openers its played against Bloomington North dating back to the 2011-12 season.</p><p>The hosts turned the ball over 17 times in the first half and made only 9 of 44 field goal attempts for the game.</p><p>“The one thing we really talked about coming into this is we’re going to have a share system,” Bennett said. “We want to make sure that if anybody’s open, they’re sharing the ball and they’re shooting it. I think that’s important for us.”</p><p>The Cougars never led in the game with Greenwood racing to a 10-2 advantage midway through the opening quarter. Stubblefield had eight of those points, including a pair of deep 3-pointers.</p><p>Greenwood opened a 30-12 halftime cushion as seven Woodmen players cracked the scoring column. Stubblefield had 10 of those points for the Woodmen.</p><p>“I just went out there and played my hardest,” Stubblefield said. “Our offense is set up for, everyone to score. Not just one individual. I was a little nervous. Always the first-game jitters.”</p><p>Greenwood plays its home opener on Thursday against Greenfield-Central.</p>