Columbus East had no answer for the inside game of Madison during Saturday’s Hoosier Hills Conference girls basketball matchup.
The Cubs scored layup after layup in the paint and when they didn’t score a layup, they were able to pick up it from the free-throw line. That resulted in a 79-66 loss for the Olympians.
After winning against Madison from 2003-17, it’s East’s second straight loss against the Cubs after falling in overtime in Madison a year ago.
“We gave up 79 points, and they average 47. You can’t give up 79 points and expect to win a game,” East coach Danny Brown said. “Give Madison all the credit. They kept attacking us. We’re not a very good defensive team right now, and it is hard to practice it right now because we have games Monday and Tuesday.”
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The Olympians (8-11, 1-5) held its final lead of the game after a Koryn Griewe basket made it 4-3. Bailey Dyer then scored six points during a 10-1 run for the Cubs (9-12, 2-5) that gave them a 13-5 lead before Whitley Rankin drained two straight 3-pointers for East to cut the deficit to 13-11.
Madison’s top player, Jade Nutley, was a dominant force inside for much of the game and finished with a game-high 28 points.
As much as the inside game worked for the Cubs, the defense of Madison kept Greiwe in check much of the game. Dyer was the Cub assigned to guard Greiwe most of the game, and she was effective.
As strong as Madison was in the first half, the Olympians still had a chance for a second-half comeback, trailing only 34-23 to start the third quarter. Early in the third, with the Cubs leading 38-25, Albany Speer hit a 3-pointer to cut it 38-28 for the Olympians.
Madison, though, answered right back with an 8-2 run to lead 47-30. Late in the third quarter, the Cubs led 51-38, but put the game away scoring six straight points for their largest of the game at 57-38.
Paige Young went scoreless for in the first half for Madison, but made her presence felt in the second half with 16 points, including 10 in the third quarter.
“The girls came out here and executed the game-plan really well,” Madison coach Sonja Bowyer said. “I have to hand it to East — they were knocking their 3s from left and right. My girls could have folded at any time, but they stuck to the game-plan. When they score, we scored, too. We kept attacking, and I was really proud of that.”
In the fourth quarter, Rankin and Katie Dougherty each hit a couple 3s. The only problem was when every time that the Olympians got a big 3-pointer, the Cubs responded with points, as well.
Rankin hit five 3-pointers to finish with a team-high 17 points. Dougherty hit three 3-point shots and finished with 15. Claire Cunningham and Griewe each added 10.
