Dec. 14—For three quarters, host Rushville trailed the Lady Warriors of Whiteland. But the final eight minutes belonged to the Lady Lions as Rushville outscored Whiteland 17-9 in the fourth quarter to post the 50-48 win.
Rushville improves to 5-4 on the season heading into Saturday’s home contest with Class 3A No. 1 Greensburg (11-0). Whiteland drops to 3-7 on the season.
The Lady Warriors jumped out to a 16-10 lead after the first quarter and took a 31-20 lead to the break at the half. In the third quarter, Rushville cut the deficit to 39-33 before making the big run in the fourth to secure the win.
Trisha Morgan led the Lady Lions in scoring with 15 points. Gracie Buzzard was also in double figures with 12 points. Leonie Boyer added eight points followed by Carly Senour seven, Kelsey Morgan four, Makenna Ripberger three and Audrey Angle one.
Ripberger and Boyer both pulled down seven rebounds to share team-high honors. Kelsey Morgan had five rebounds. Senour and Buzzard shared team-high honors with two assists each. Trisha Morgan led the Lady Lions with four steals.
Greensburg 90 South Dearborn 22
A long trip for a quick game. No. 1 Greensburg traveled to South Dearborn for an EIAC matchup with the Lady Knights. Greensburg rolled to 11-0 on the season with a 90-22 win.
The Lady Pirates led 35-3 after the first quarter and 61-14 at the half. The entire second half was played with a running clock. After three quarters, Greensburg led 83-16 before going on to the 90-22 win.
Aly Powers led all scorers with 21 points. Mylie Wilkison was next for Greensburg with 20 points. Claire Larrison finished with 19 points. Mary Harmon poured in 14 points. Leah West had five points. Kahlen Adams scored four points. Emma Kuntz hit a right-wing 3-pointer for three points. Emma McQueen and Rachel Lipps both scored two points.
The top-ranked Lady Pirates travel to EIAC foe Rushville Saturday. The junior varsity game is set to tip at 6 p.m.
South Decatur 49 Hauser 36
The Lady Cougars stopped a 2-game losing skid with a 49-36 MHC road win at Hauser Thursday.
Both teams are now 6-5 on the season. The Lady Cougars improve to 2-1 in the MHC while the Lady Jets fall to 1-2 in conference action.
South doubled up the Lady Jets in the first quarter, taking a 10-5 lead. Makayla Puckett connected twice from long range for six points in the opening eight minutes. Makayla Somers added a bucket and Taylor Somers hit a pair from the charity stripe for South. Norah Berkenstock hit a 3-pointer for Hauser’s first points of the game. June Berkenstock added a bucket for Hauser’s five points.
In the second quarter, South’s defense limited the Lady Jets to just three field goals. On the offensive end, South’s Makayla Somers and Taylor Somers combined for the first 10 Lady Cougars points of the quarter. Two free throws by Paige McQueen and two from Puckett closed the half with South on top 24-11.
Hauser’s offense finally took flight in the second half, scoring 25 points. In the third quarter, Hauser scored 13 points, eight coming from Norah Berkenstock. South countered with 13 points as well, nine coming off a trio of 3-pointers from Puckett to finish the third quarter. After three quarters, South led 37-24.
In the fourth, both Berkenstocks hit from beyond the 3-point line for Hauser (Norah with two). But it was not enough as South scored 12 points, including hitting 8-of-10 free throws in the final eight minutes.
Puckett led South with 19 points. Makayla Somers and Taylor Somers were both in double figures with 13 and 11 points respectively and both pulled down 10 rebounds. McQueen added five points and a team-high four assists. Dalilah Martin scored two points.
South travels to Union County (6-2) Saturday.
Franklin County 43 North Decatur 41
Looking for a second straight win, the Lady Wildcats of Franklin County hosted North Decatur Thursday. Franklin County took a 9-8 lead after the first quarter and did not lead again until taking a 41-40 lead with less than one minute to play in the game en route to a 43-41 victory over the Lady Chargers.
Franklin County improves to 4-6 on the season while North falls to 5-4.
North outscored Franklin County 12-7 in the second quarter to take a 20-16 lead at the half. The Lady Chargers continued to lead by four after three quarters, 32-28.
With just less than two minutes to play in the fourth quarter, Franklin Country’s Ruby Singer scored to cut the North lead to 37-36. North quickly answered with a Kelsey Haley 3-pointer to push the lead back to four at 40-36.
A pair of Tiffany Billman free throws cut the deficit to 40-38 and another Singer bucket knotted the game at 40-40 with just :48 left in the game. Two Singer free throws put the Lady Wildcats in front. North got within one with a free throw by Madi Allen, but a free throw by Franklin County’s Kendall Cox with :04.2 made it 43-41 and North was unable to get a final shot off.
Connersville 46 Batesville 38
After an even first half, host Connersville outscored Batesville 25-17 in the second half to post the 46-38 EIAC victory. Connersville improves to 6-3 on the season and 1-0 in the EIAC. Batesville drops to 8-3 overall and 3-1 in the EIAC.
The host Lady Spartans led after the first quarter 11-9. Batesville rallied to knot the game at 21-21 heading to the halftime break. A 14-9 third quarter and 11-8 fourth quarter propelled the host team to the victory.
For the Lady Bulldogs, Sophie Gesell led the way with 16 points. Maddie Haskamp scored eight points followed by Marlee Obermeyer five, Sydney Campbell four, Nora Wiedeman three and Lydia Haskamp two.
The JV Lady Bulldogs defeated Connersville 34-22. The Lady Bulldogs were led by Maggie Jelinek and Jolene Dirkhising with nine points each.
Contact Aaron Kirchoff at aaron.kirchoff@greensburgdailynews.com.
