Whiteland girls pull away from Greenwood

<p>If Greenwood can figure a way to play solidly for four quarters, it will be a team to be reckoned with.</p><p>And if Whiteland can pick up the pace in the first half like they did in the second half, it will be a threat to win every time.</p><p>Slow start notwithstanding, Whiteland was too much for Greenwood as they toppled the host Woodmen, 52-36, in the first round of the annual Johnson County girls basketball tournament on Tuesday night.</p><p>Whiteland (2-1) now heads into the semifinal round against Franklin on Thursday at Greenwood.</p><p>“We adjusted some things on our defense and offense in the second half,” Whiteland coach Kyle Shipp said. “That was evident when we went on that big run in the third quarter.”</p><p>It was the third straight win for the Warriors against Greenwood, and it gives Shipp a good idea of what he and the Warriors will expect next time they play the Woodmen come January.</p><p>Ditto Greenwood coach Justin Bennett.</p><p>“We played well together as a team in the first half,” Bennett said. “In the second half we probably could have moved the ball a better, and defensive assignments were blown at times.”</p><p>Greenwood’s pace was pretty good in the first quarter, when it took a 14-12 lead on the Warriors, but the downside was the Woodmen were getting into some early foul trouble that carried over to the second quarter.</p><p>That’s when Whiteland used its defense and some patience to limit the Woodmen to six points in both the second and third quarters.</p><p>To the delight of Shipp and the Warriors, the Woodmen went more than six minutes in the third quarter before Bailee Taft hit a jumper on top of the key to break the drought.</p><p>“We knew we could get some stops on defense and I think that was the difference in the game,&quot; Shipp said. &quot;Once we put a run together that really kind of spread the game out for us.”</p><p>Whiteland continued its run in the fourth quarter, taking good shots from the field and not hurrying the ball down the court like it did in the first.</p><p>Perfect free throws also helped, with Whiteland going 7 for 7 in the second half.</p><p>Junior Toni Joyner led all scorers with 17 points for Whiteland and added a game-high 10 rebounds. Senior Megan Harlow added 13, and sophomore Gracie McCullars added 10. </p><p>Greenwood (2-4) was led by Sarah DeCastro’s 11 points.</p><p>“This was just a good old backyard battle,” said Shipp.</p>