Columbus East got off to a rough start Saturday against Franklin Central and fell into a bit of a hole.
The Olympians came charging back and didn’t pull away until late in the fourth quarter for a 64-57 non-conference girls basketball victory.
East secured the win by scoring its final 14 points on free throws. The Olympians finished 27-for-38 from the line.
“I think the free throws definitely made the game for us,” East senior Sarah Park said. “The result could have been much different if we didn’t hit our free throws.”
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The Olympians (3-1) fell behind 11-3 in the first quarter but went on a 6-2 run to trail only 13-9. In the second quarter, with the Flashes (0-4) leading 17-11, a Park basket sparked an 8-0 run that was capped off with a Koryn Greiwe 3-pointer to give East its first lead at 19-17.
Franklin Central scored the next five points to lead 22-19, but Whitley Rankin tied the score with a 3, and then Greiwe hit the go-ahead 3 to give the Olympians a 25-22 lead. The Flashes converted a three-point-play before the half to make it 25-25.
“I don’t think our energy was where we wanted it to be in the first half,” Greiwe said. “(East coach Danny Brown) told us that we were missing shots and not playing team ball and not hustling like we usually do. In the second half, we played a lot more team ball, and we shared the ball.”
Greiwe, a freshman, finished with a game- and career-high 32 points, that included three 3-pointers, and shot 13 of 18 from the line. She also chipped in four rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks.
With the Olympians leading 30-27, Franklin Central went on a 7-2 run to lead 34-32. However, East got a big 3-point basket from Katie Dougherty to take the lead and then another 3-pointer from Greiwe gave the Olympians a 38-34 lead and plenty of momentum heading into the fourth quarter.
The East duo Claire Cunningham and Greiwe scored the first 14 points of the fourth quarter to help the Olympians maintain a 52-44 lead. Rankin then sank two free throw for their first double-digit lead of the game.
Cunningham finished with 11 points before fouling out midway through the fourth quarter. Olivia Linnemann stepped up and grabbed two big rebounds late in the game that helped East secure the win.
“We had a lot more energy,” Greiwe said. “I could see that our energy level was just high, and we had really good points. That was really what rallied us back into the game and get that win.”
East has two tough games this week with a home contest Tuesday against Brownstown Central and on the road Saturday against Mooresville.
“I think we’re still getting used to each other, and we’re just getting better and better,” Park said of the team chemistry. “We’re going to look to the next game and continue to work hard in practice to get better.”
