In the first quarter of Thursday night’s crosstown clash, the Columbus East girls were doing all the things they didn’t do in their matchups with Columbus North last season.
The Olympians were hitting 3-pointers, they were playing rock-solid defense, they were rebounding and most of all, high-scoring sophomore point guard Koryn Greiwe was finding a rhythm.
But after that first quarter, which ended with a 20-11 East lead, the tide turned. The Bull Dogs began doing the things the Olympians had done in the first quarter.
As a result, North limited East to two points in the second quarter and went on to post a 45-38 victory.
"We were down a little bit at the beginning," North freshman guard Lauren Barker said. "We knew that we have a strong defense, and we started helping in on Koryn and some of their stronger players, closing out on their really good shooters. We were able to get some steals on them and then use that momentum to get us going."
The Bull Dogs, after giving up 20 points in the first quarter, allowed only 18 over the final three quarters. Greiwe had nine points in the opening period and eight the rest of the way.
"I think that we had a rough start, but we really came together," North senior guard Annie Anderson said. "She’s a big key part of their team, but I think with some good defense and a lot of player recognition, our team was able to realize and get on it."
Anderson led the Bull Dogs with 13 points. But her biggest contribution came on the defensive end, where she spent all but a couple of the 32 minutes hounding Greiwe.
"Her job was just to make it hard (for Greiwe), and I think Annie did fabulous on that," North coach Pat McKee said. "The others, after they hit a couple shots, did a better job of being a little closer and contesting shots a little better."
That included closing out on East’s two senior wings, Katie Dougherty and Whitley Rankin. Both hit a 3-pointer in the Olympians’ sizzling start, but were held to a combined three points over the final three quarters.
"Early, we maybe weren’t quite as aware as we needed to be," McKee said. "We gave them a little more space than they needed."
McKee credited assistant coach Brett White with helping the Bull Dogs turn things around defensively after the first eight minutes.
"In that quarter break, he gave them a couple points of emphasis, and all of a sudden, we got a lot better."
Ted Schultz is sports editor for The Republic. He can be reached at tschultz@therepublic.com or 812-379-5628.
