BLOOMFIELD —
Sullivan dominated the low block at both ends of the court Wednesday to defeat South Knox 43-30. The No. 8-ranked Golden Arrows will play Eastern Greene — a 70-24 winner vs. North Central — in Friday's semifinals of the Class 2A Bloomfield Sectional.
Coach Julie Meeks' Sullivan team got its offense going early, patiently waiting high-percentage openings.
Having already converted an old-fashioned 3-point play, senior forward Sierra Walters scored on consecutive trips to put the Golden Arrows up 10-0. Then Walters bounced a pass to Indiana State recruit Rhagen Smith for a 12-0 lead with 37.8 seconds left in the opening quarter.
South Knox guard Samantha Scott drilled a 3-pointer with 30 seconds left to keep her team from being shut out in the opening quarter.
South Knox shot 17 percent in the first half as the 6-foot-2 Smith had three blocks, while helping hold the 14-9 Spartans to four field goals.
"That's what we intended to do," said Walters, who finished with 12 points. "Definitely rebounding and staying on 23 [Samantha Scott], not giving her open looks. We were focused on our defense for this game."
One of Sullivan's three losses this season came to South Knox in overtime, giving the Golden Arrows a little extra motivation for the first game of the postseason.
Smith finished with 18 points and five blocked shots.
"I think it mentally put them down to get off to the start we did," Smith said. "[The earlier loss] definitely fueled our fire.
“That loss got us back into practice ready to improve. We got outrebounded in that game, and we didn't let that happen tonight."
Sullivan allowed five offensive rebounds in the game, winning the battle on the boards 33-24. Sydney Chapman led the Arrows with seven rebounds, while Walters added six and Smith and Calean Jones five.
Colbie Harrison was a spark on the glass and defensively when she got minutes as well with four boards and two steals. Smith assisted Harrison to give the Golden Arrows their biggest lead, 31-4, to open the fourth quarter.
Sullivan stretched its lead to 32-16 when South Knox coach Scott Henwood was issued a technical foul and Smith hit 1-of-2 at the foul line.
Sullivan struggled with turnovers as South Knox scrambled to get back into the game, but the Spartans only got as close as 32-24 with 2:45 to go.
Sullivan knocked down 21-of-26 at the foul line, but South Knox managed 18 points off turnovers to make a rally.
"That's something we struggled with earlier in the season," Sullivan coach Julie Meeks said. "The second half of the season we've really come on strong at the free-throw line. We've got to take a little better care of the basketball, take better care of the lead. We had some silly passes, fortunately we had a lead we could hang on."
In the night's opener, North Central was within 29-10 at the half against Eastern Greene, and 5-11 Aubrey Evans finished with a double-double of 11 points and 12 rebounds.
Evans will return next season, and coach Jerry Willard will graduate only senior Ashley Hall. Willard, who watched NC have recent success and coached them to winning seasons going back as far as 1988, hopes to turn it around. The Thunderbirds finished the season 1-21.
"Even though we've experienced heavy heartaches, we've gained experience playing on the varsity level," Willard said. "We've improved game in and game out. Now we have to get to where we get a nucleus, build on that nucleus for the next three years. We've got freshmen and sophomores who have to make a commitment and dedication to this sport as they get older."
EASTERN GREENE (70) — Resler 3-5 0-1 6, Spice 2-3 0-0 4, Martin 6-13 4-6 17, Butler 1-4 0-0 2, Todd 1-3 0-0 2, New 1-4 0-0 2, Dubois 2-3 0-0 4, Wagner 3-10 3-4 10, Todd 1-3 0-0 2, Harper 0-0 0-0 0, Igel 7-10 7-10 21, Osborn 0-0 2-2 2. Totals 26-55 FG, 16-23 FT, 70 TP.
NORTH CENTRAL (24) — Carrio 0-5 0-0 0, Netherlain 2-9 0- 5, Harper 0-0 0-0 0, Boyll 0-0 0-1 0, Hall 1-7 0-0 2, Street 0-1 2-4 2, Miller 0-0 0-0 0, Crumrin 2-4 0-0 4, Evans 4-5 3-5 11. Totals 9-31 FG, 5-10 FT, 24 TP.
Eastern Greene 20 9 21 20 — 70
North Central 4 6 10 4 — 24
3-point shooting — EG 2-9 (Martin, Wagner), NC 1-8 (Netherlain). Rebounds — EG 31 (Martin 8, Igel 6), NC 27 (Evans 12). Assists — EG 15 (New 5, Butler 5), NC 3 (Crumrin, Evans, Carrio). Turnovers — EG 10, NC 35. Steals — EG 22 (Todd 6, Igel 4), NC 5 (Carrio 2, Boyll, Crumrin, Evans). Total fouls — EG 13, NC 14. Fouled out — none.
SULLIVAN (43) — Jones 0-5 4-4 4, Gilham 0-2 2-2 2, Chapman 0-3 4-4 4, Walters 4-10 4-5 12, Smith 6-8 6-9 18, Harrison 1-2 1-2 3. Totals 11-30 FG, 21-26 FT, 43 TP.
SOUTH KNOX (30) — Carroll 0-7 2-2 2, Mikiska 0-2 0-0 0, Burkhart 2-4 0-0 5, Wilson 2-7 0-0 4, Cavins 0-0 0-0 0, S.Scott 5-15 0-0 12, Houchin 0-0 0-0 0, Bocher 0-0 0-0 0, Coop 0-2 0-0 0, Coop 0-2 0-0 0, A.Scott 0-5 5-6 6, Jones 0-0 0-0 0, Kirk 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 10-44 FG, 7-8 FT, 30 TP.
Sullivan 12 8 9 14 —43
South Knox 3 7 4 16 —30
3-point shooting — S 0-3 (Jones 0-1, Walters 0-1, Gilham 0-1), SK 3-15 (Burkhart 1-3, Carroll 0-2, S.Scott 2-7, Wilson 0-3). Rebounds — S 33 (Chapman 7, Walters 6, Smith 5, Jones 5, Harrison 4), SK 24 (A.Scott 9). Steals — S 7 (Walters 2, Harrison 2, Jones, Chapman, Smith), SK 10 (Burkhart 2, Wilson 2, S.Scott 2). Assists — S 9 (Jones 4, Walters 2), SK 3 (Wilson 2, Carroll). Turnovers — S 17, SK 12. Blocked shots — S 6 (Smith 5, Walters 1), SK 2 (Carroll 2). Total fouls — S 12, SK 18. Fouled out — none. Technical fouls — SK bench.
Next — Eastern Greene (8-14) plays Friday in the semifinals of the Class 2A Bloomfield Sectional against Sullivan (19-3).South Knox finishes its season 14-9. North Central finishes 1-21.
High School
Related Photos
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On the run: Sullivan's Jaleigh Gilham blows past South Knox defender Samantha Scott in first-half action in their opening-round game of the Bloomfield girls basketball sectional.
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And one: Sierra Walters draws a foul from South Knox defender Olivia Carroll as she shoots a layup.
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In traffic: Sullivan's Rhagen Smith draws a crowd of South Knox defenders as she shoots from the paint in the first half of their sectional matchup Wednesday night in Bloomfield.
Discussion
Sullivan wins battle in low post
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