The secret is out.
Koryn Greiwe may be a freshman, but over the first several games this season, she established herself as a big-time scorer for Columbus East.
Unfortunately for Greiwe and the Olympians, the rest of southern Indiana has taken notice. The past three opponents have double- and triple-teamed the 5-foot-7 point guard to try to limit her offensive effectiveness.
Columbus North was the latest girls basketball team to throw its top defenders at Greiwe. She scored 23 points Thursday night, but the Bull Dogs held the rest of the Olympians to 23 in a 56-46 victory.
“We knew she was their best scorer, so we had to shut her down because she scores the majority of their points,” North sophomore point guard Alexa McKinley said.
McKinley drew the initial defensive assignment on Griewe and held her scoreless until Greiwe hit a 3-pointer with 2 seconds left in the first quarter. Junior guard Annie Anderson took a turn on Greiwe in the second quarter when Greiwe scored nine points.
The key stretch came when North held East to eight points and forced nine turnovers over the third quarter and first three minutes of the fourth quarter to extend a 23-22 halftime lead to 46-30.
“Defensive intensity was definitely our goal for most of the game, especially the third quarter because we weren’t scoring very well,”said Nadia Lomax, the Bull Dogs’ lone senior.
Lomax provided an offensive spark for North, scoring 14 points. She was one rebound short of a double-double, leading the Bull Dogs with nine rebounds.
“This is my sixth East game, so I kind of knew how the atmosphere would be and kind of how my teammates would be with the nervousness and stuff,” Lomax said. “So I was able to be kind of the rock, I guess, and kind of make sure that everyone was focused and excited to be here.”
Nadia Lomax, McKinley (12 points) and Anderson (10 points) weren’t the only stars for North on Thursday. Sierra Norman shot the Bull Dogs to an early 8-0 lead and finished with 10 points. Freshman Kylah Lawson added eight points and eight rebounds. Tessa Lomax grabbed four rebounds, and Madison White came off the bench to score a big basket in the second quarter after the Olympians had taken the lead.
But the theme on this night was North’s defensive effort. Although Greiwe scored 23, 10 of those came in the final three minutes after the game had been decided.
“She’s a really good player, and when she breaks free, she can score,” North coach Pat McKee said. “We tried to limit her touches. When she gets the ball, she’s going to find ways to score. Then other kids stepped up to help when needed. When the double was available, we got double teams to make her give the ball up. Just the whole team effort was really good.”
Ted Schultz is sports editor for The Republic. He can be reached at [email protected] or 812-379-5628.
