“I’m gushing today,” said Glover, whose squad improved to 5-1 overall and 3-1 in the Southwestern Buckeye League Buckeye Division. “My girls earned this, every single one of them. They deserve all the accolades.
“We’re not the most talented basketball team, but I think we have a lot of character, a lot of toughness. When you work hard, you can overcome some of the deficiencies you have. I think that was part of it today. We really wanted this.”
Christa Harris tallied 11 of her 15 points in the fourth quarter for the Indians. Freshman center Cami Glover added 10 points and nine rebounds.
Glover sank two free throws with 8.6 seconds remaining to make it 45-42, and teammate Caitlyn Stewart followed with a steal that marked the end of a five-game losing streak in this rivalry series.
“I just really wanted to stick it to ’em,” said Harris, a junior guard. “We hit the big shots that we needed to hit. We really came together as a team, and we were really determined.”
Madison (2-1, 2-1) connected on eight 3-pointers, but the last (by Jackie Kovscek) came with 1:07 left in the third quarter. It created a 36-24 lead and proved to be the high-water mark for the Mohawks.
“It looked like we were depending a lot on the 3,” Madison coach Brian McGuire said. “We’ve got some good shooters, and we were hitting them at first, but we need to figure out something else.
“Our spacing on the floor wasn’t very good when it came down to crunch time. Our offense is predicated on spreading the floor out and opening the middle and attacking the basket, and we weren’t doing that. I knew Randy would have his team ready to play.”
Harris entered the day as one of the SWBL Buckeye’s top scorers with a 17.0 average, and she asserted herself down the stretch.
“That’s what great players do,” McGuire said. “She didn’t care about the first, second and third quarters. It was all about winning at the end of the game.”
Said Harris, “I didn’t really come out the way that I should, but in the second half, I was in the game and ready to go. I just felt like it was time to kick it in gear.”
Lillie Runnells (12) and Kovscek (nine) did all their scoring at the 3-point line for the Mohawks. Freshman guard Kenzi Saunders had nine points and eight boards, and Kelli Bush notched six points and eight rebounds.
Carlisle got quality contributions from Savannah Parrish (five points, six rebounds), Cassidy Whaley (six points, three boards), Sydney Gilbert (four point, two rebounds) and Miranda Weist (three points, four assists, two boards).
“Whenever Savannah comes in, she gives us the energy and the uplift that we need from kids coming off the bench,” Randy Glover said. “She does a lot of grunt work. She’s on the football team, so she’s not intimidated by anything or anybody. I write little cards to my kids and on hers today was, ‘Keep being the motor.’ ”
Defensively, the Indians came out in a zone and paid the price early in the game. They were much more effective in their man-to-man over the last three periods, and they seemed to frustrate Bush down low most of the day.
“I was a little concerned switching to the man because we’re not the most fleet-footed team on the defensive end,” Randy Glover said. “Come to find out, that was the defense we needed to be in today.”
Madison played without senior guard Ally Hoskins because of a knee injury, and 6-foot-2 center Lauren Dietz has also been slowed by a knee problem.
“I’m not blaming anything on the injuries,” McGuire said. “We are good enough to win games like this, and we just didn’t step up. Our focus is on something else other than basketball, and it’s our job as coaches to make sure it’s basketball. We need to get back into practice Monday and figure out who we are and how we’re going to do things.”
“There’s a lot of respect for the Madison program,” Randy Glover said. “There is a rich tradition of good girls basketball in that building. That’s the bar. Where are we compared to the Madisons and Waynesvilles? Today, our girls stepped up and seized the moment.”
Both teams will play Thursday, Madison at home against Dixie and the Indians on the road against Milton-Union.
Madison 16-5-15-6—42
Carlisle 13-3-12-17—45
MADISON (2-1, 2-1 SWBL Buckeye): Jenna O’Hair 1 0 2, Lillie Runnells 4 0 12, Jackie Kovscek 3 0 9, Lily Campbell 2 0 4, Kenzi Saunders 3 2 9, Kelli Bush 2 2 6. Totals: 15-4-42
CARLISLE (5-1, 3-1 SWBL Buckeye): Savannah Parrish 2 1 5, Caitlyn Stewart 1 0 2, Miranda Weist 1 1 3, Christa Harris 7 0 15, Cassidy Whaley 3 0 6, Cami Glover 4 2 10, Sydney Gilbert 2 0 4. Totals: 20-4-45
3-pointers: M 8 (Runnells 4, Kovscek 3, Saunders), C 1 (Harris)
About the Author