GREENFIELD — Faced with the task of competing on back-to-back nights, the Greenfield-Central girls basketball team hosted a strong Class 2A opponent, Lapel, on Wednesday.
A challenging task became even more difficult as leading scorer Hannah Farrell went down with an ankle injury in the first quarter. The Cougars fell behind 9-0 early and had their backs against the wall.
They overcame that adversity. A resurgent Greenfield-Central team stormed back in the fourth quarter behind Farrell and overcame a double-digit deficit to stun Lapel, 47-41. It was a nice birthday present for head coach Bradley Key and an impressive win for the Cougars.
“Really, really proud of that group,” said Key. “Last night we got down pretty bad and made a bit of a comeback. It was a tiring game — we played hard. I was a little worried coming into tonight and for the first three quarters we looked dead. In the fourth quarter, we found some leadership, all seven girls were involved and did their part.”
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Farrell led the way with 21 points, including 12 in the final quarter. She did much of her damage from the free throw line, finishing 12-for-16 on the night. If the ankle was bothering her, it certainly didn’t slow her down in the second half.
“I’ve had ankle problems for forever now,” Farrell said. “I just deal with it. It hurt but I have to help the team. It was a good win, especially on coach’s birthday.”
Farrell received plenty of help from her teammates as Addison Hill posted a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Crystal Peterson chipped in with nine, all on 3-pointers. Hill was a stabilizing force for Greenfield-Central the entire night, especially with Farrell out early.
“I was pretty hard on her last night,” Key said. “She had a rough night. She decided today she wanted to play better and she did everything I asked.”
Hill put the Cougars on the board with two free throws nearly six minutes into the first quarter to cut the deficit to 9-2. Peterson added a baseline 3-pointer but the Cougars still trailed by seven points after one. Greenfield-Central stayed close and used an 8-0 run early in the second quarter to cut the lead to a single point. But Lapel responded and pushed the advantage all the way to 11 entering the final quarter.
Despite playing with tired legs, the Cougars dug deep and turned the tide of the game with solid defensive pressure in the fourth quarter. A steal and layup by Farrell closed the gap to 39-33. She scored again after a Lapel turnover and Hill followed by sinking two free throws in a one-and-one situation. Another steal and put-back by Harrell tied the game at 39-39 with four minutes remaining.
On the next possession, Lapel failed to convert on numerous chances while taking nearly two minutes off the clock. Farrell then connected on two more free throws in a one-and-one, giving Greenfield-Central its first lead at 41-39 with just over two minutes remaining.
The Cougars sealed the deal from the line, hitting their final four attempts.
Morgan Knepp paced a pesky Lapel team with 15 points. Ashlynn Allman added nine and Delany Peoples chipped in eight points to go with seven rebounds.
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Greenfield-Central 47, Lapel 41
Lapel;12;13;12;4;—;41
Greenfield-Central;5;13;8;21;—;47
Lapel (8-5): Morgan Knepp 6 2-2 15, Kylie Rich 1 0-0 3, Lily Daniels 2 0-3 4, Delany Peoples 4 0-1 8, Paige Rich 1 0-0 2, Ashlynn Allman 2 4-6 9. Totals: 16 6-12 41.
Greenfield-Central (6-8): Hannah Farrell 4 12-16 21, Crystal Peterson 3 0-1 9, Addison Hill 3 7-8 13, Lydia McIntire 1 2-2 4. Totals: 11 19-25 47.
3-point goals: Team 3 (Knepp, K. Rich, Allman), Greenfield-Central 4 (Peterson 3, Farrell).
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