Columbus East’s Madelyn Poe, left, looks for an open teammate against Floyd Central at Columbus East, Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023.
Paige Grider | For The Republic
Columbus East almost let it slip away.
The Olympians had the win almost fully secured but let Floyd Central climb back into the contest and cut the lead to two with 20.4 seconds left in the game. It was then senior Madelyn Poe who hit two clutch free throws to build the lead back up to four and two key defensive stops finally secured the 43-38 Hoosier Hills Conference girls basketball victory Tuesday night at the Orange Pit.
“We focused a lot on free throws the past couple of weeks and how it can really come down to that,” Poe said. “As a team, we worked really hard on that, and it really paid off tonight because our free-throw percentage was higher than it was in the past. We really fought to the end, and it was a really good team win.”
The Highlanders (4-4, 0-2) tried the first attempt at a comeback earlier in the fourth quarter. They cut the East lead to 32-26 midway through the fourth quarter but Victoria Cuhadar hit a huge 3-point basket to make it 35-26.
Floyd Central cut it to 35-31 following a 3-point bucket from Samara Miller, but Poe answered right back with a 3-pointer to extend the Olympian lead to 38-31. They led 39-31 until the Highlanders went on the 8-1 run to cut it to two, setting up the ending sequence.
“We had a rough couple of weeks, and to start off conference play with a huge win at home in front of a great crowd is how we wanted to start this next season of 23-24,” East coach Kaitlyn Phillips said.
East (3-8, 1-0) put three players in double figures, with Messiah Trapp leading the way with 13 points. Poe finished with 12, and Caroline Frost added 10.
“Our post play has really come a long way these past few days,” Phillips said. “They have responded so well. Now, we have that inside presence to relieve some of our guards. Now, we have all that open room to shoot open shots from the 3-point line. We’re really starting to come together in having every facet of our game on offense flowing at once.”
As much as Phillips liked the offense, she was very pleased with the defensive effort, as well.
“We had girls that had a huge role tonight on the defensive end, and that was a big reason why we won,” Phillips said. “We were able to hold their best people, 12 (Elise Coleman) and 21 (Miller). They are phenomenal basketball players. We were able to hold them to a manageable scoring amount, and so that was a big part about why we were successful.”
Columbus East 43, Floyd Central 38
Floyd Central;5;9;5;19;—;38
Columbus East;9;10;9;15;—;43
Floyd Central (4-4, 0-2): Hausz 4 1-2 9, Gianfagna 0 0-0 0, Coleman 2 0-2 6, Clark 1 2-2 4, Miller 4 2-2 12, Timberlake 0 0-0 0, Czarnecki 2 1-5 5, Guibson 1 0-0 2. Totals: 14 6-13 38.
Columbus East (3-8, 1-0): Kenzi Cheek 0 0-0 0, Jenna Guse 1 0-0 2, Victoria Cuhadar 2 1-2 6, Messiah Trapp 4 5-8 13, Caroline Frost 4 2-4 10, Madelyn Poe 4 2-2 12, Savanna Sullivan 0 0-0 0. Totals: 15 10-16 43.
3-point goals: Floyd Central 4 (Coleman 2, Milller 2); Columbus East 3 (Poe 2, Cuhadar).
