Greenwood used its edge in backcourt quickness to great effect at times during Tuesday’s girls basketball game at Indian Creek.
But the Woodmen couldn’t do enough to negate the advantage that Caitlyn Snyder and the Braves enjoyed in the paint.
Snyder scored 15 of her game-high 21 points in the second half and also grabbed 13 rebounds as Indian Creek held off a spirited charge by the Woodmen in the fourth quarter to earn a 59-45 nonconference victory.
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“Snyder came up big,” Braves coach Brian Ferris said. “They didn’t have an answer for her.”
After the Woodmen scored the first dozen points of the fourth quarter to cut a 14-point deficit down to two, 44-42, with four minutes remaining, Snyder bullied her way to a three-point play at the 3:41 mark.
The Braves (8-6) were able to close it out at the foul line down the stretch, finishing the night 21 of 25 from the stripe overall and 13 of 16 in the fourth quarter.
Indian Creek wasted little time getting out in front. Katie Burkman, back in the starting lineup after missing a few games due to illness, knocked down a pair of 3-pointers during a game-opening 15-2 run that was capped by a three-point play from Snyder with 1:55 left on the first-quarter clock.
“(Snyder) hurt us big time down low,” Greenwood coach Justin Bennett said.
Down 18-5 after one, the Woodmen clawed back, opening the second quarter with a Brooklyn Stubblefield 3 and cutting the deficit to 23-17 on a 25-footer from Bailee Taft with 1:02 left in the half.
Greenwood (3-10) continued to battle, getting as close as 31-27 in the middle of the third quarter, but the Braves again began to dominate inside, getting a combined 16 points in the period from Snyder and Ali Harris to start pulling away.
“They were putting a lot of pressure on our guards,” Snyder said, “so it opened up the post a lot and I was able to get easy baskets.”
A buzzer-beating 3 from Jessie Hart capped a 9-0 run and sent Indian Creek into the final quarter with a 44-30 cushion before the Woodmen made a big push that wound up coming up just a little bit short.
“We had a lot of good,” Bennett said. “I think we could’ve gotten a few more easy transition baskets, and if we capitalize on that, it’s a different game.”
Taft paced Greenwood with 16 points in defeat. Burkman finished with 14 points for Indian Creek, with Harris adding 10.
