Keep your distance: Farrell’s long range shooting leads Cougars to third straight win

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Greenfield-Central’s Brianna McConnell(11) tries to keep her feet after grabbing the rebound during their game against New Castle on January 17,2020.(Rob Baker/Daily Reporter)

GREENFIELD — Hannah Farrell’s accuracy from long distance made sure New Castle kept its distance.

The Greenfield-Central senior, who has signed to play at soon-to-be Division I program Bellarmine, had her best shooting night of the season in a 50-32 victory over the visiting Trojans.

Farrell hit four straight three-pointers — in a four-minute span from the end of the first quarter and into the second — to give the Cougars a cushion it had for the remainder of Friday’s Hoosier Heritage Conference girls’ basketball tilt with New Castle at Greenfield-Central High School.

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Farrell hit two more in the fourth quarter to extend the team’s lead to the final margin in a contest the Cougars led from start to finish.

The win was Greenfield-Central’s third straight, putting it one game over .500 in the conference (3-2) and one game within that mark overall (8-9). New Castle dropped to 3-15 on the season and 1-4 in the HHC.

Farrell went 6-of-8 from three-point range and scored a game-high 22 points.

It was the first time she had hit 50 percent or better from three-point range since going 3-of-6 against Lapel in a 49-42 loss on Dec. 5.

Farrell’s six makes doubled the most she has made in a game this year. She had hit three three-pointers on three different occasions.

The senior hit the first of her four straight with one minute remaining in the first period, giving the Cougars a 12-5 lead. Her third trey was from about 26-feet away and her fourth was banked in, giving G-C a 23-14 lead with 5:07 left in the half.

“I feel like I’m a little more confident,” Farrell said of her shooting. “I’ve continued practicing it and haven’t stopped shooting it.”

Her two made treys late in the game extended the lead from 12 to 18. She scored eight of the game’s final 10 points.

“We’ve been through a lot of tough games where we struggled to shoot,” Greenfield-Central coach Bradley Key said. “Her hitting those shots (Friday) was huge.

“That’s the first game she’s really lit it up from three-point (range) and that was great for us, but I thought it was a good team win.”

Though Farrell was the lone double-figure scorer, the Cougars were more than just the Friday night Farrell Show.

Five different players scored in the first quarter to help Greenfield-Central get out to a 14-7 lead. Seven different players scored on the night.

Brooke Herrell and Crystal Peterson each had six points. Brianna McConnell and Addison Hill had five apiece. Caroline Gibson had four and Ava Antic scored two. The Cougars bench outscored New Castle’s subs 11-0.

“It’s a game-changer when all of our players are scoring,” Farrell said. “We can move the ball and do all sorts of things. It helps with everything.”

With the regular season coming to an end and sectional action just a few weeks away, Key likes the way his team is playing.

“We’re kind of starting to get in a groove of who we are,” Key said. “It may be taking a little longer than some of us wanted, but that’s part of it. I think we’re playing our best basketball right now.”

They couldn’t have picked a better time. After a disappointing 46-22 loss at Mooresville, Key’s Cougars have beaten Connersville (48-20 on Jan. 7) and Plainfield (45-39 on Tuesday), both on the road, prior to Friday’s win at home.

Greenfield-Central looks for four in a row with a 1:30 p.m. contest today, at home, against Indian Creek.