GREENFIELD
Greenfield-Central took control in the second quarter, outscoring Greenwood 23-8, and went on to defeat the Woodmen 63-31 in the season opener for both teams Thursday at Dellen Automotive Gymnasium.
“It was definitely not how we expected to come out,” first-year Greenwood head coach Jenny Finora said. “Credit to Greenfield-Central. They’re really good, much improved from last year.
“We looked a little shell-shocked. Everything we prepared for, we weren’t prepared. I don’t know if it was first-day jitters. Regardless, it’s a lot of things we know to work on and be better from. These games aren’t always ideal, but we learn a lot from them.”
Greenwood led early, 4-3, on buckets by Courtney Hankenhoff and Stasia Buckalew, but the Cougars gained the lead for good three minutes into the game on a Jalyn Smith layup, assisted by Brooklyn McConnell.
A pair of free throws early in the second quarter from Greenwood’s Elianna Anderson cut Greenfield-Central’s lead to 11-10. G-C went on a 23-6 run over the remainder of the half, getting contributions from a number of players.
Cougar junior Chaney Brown hit all three of her second-quarter field-goal attempts and led all scorers at the break with 11 points. She finished the game as the co-leading scorer, matching teammate Madison Sonsini with 17 points. G-C frosh Izzy Silcox was the only other double-digit scorer with 10, all in the first half, including a pair of 3-pointers.
“You never know what you’re going to get when you start the season and we had two new players (Richmond transfer Sonsini and frosh Silcox) in the starting lineup,” Greenfield-Central coach Bradley Key said. “The scrimmage can only tell you so much. It was good to see us in live action against another team.
“I thought we did a good job getting out and running the break. We stressed that in practice and we did a good job of running today.”
Greenwood was led by Hankenhoff with eight.
The Woodmen stayed close in the first quarter by hitting the boards. They outrebounded the Cougars 17-4 in the opening frame. Three-pointers from Buckalew and Keyara Johnson were the only field goals in the second period.
“(Greenfield-Central) got a lot of transition baskets (in the second quarter),” Finora said. “We couldn’t stop transition and they got some uncontested 3s. That was what really shifted it. We were one or two steps slow tonight.”
Greenwood hosts Bloomington North Saturday afternoon. Greenfield-Central continues play against Johnson County schools Saturday, traveling to Whiteland.
