GREENFIELD — Greenfield-Central thought they had finally pulled away from Greenwood in the third quarter Thursday night.
The Woodmen weren’t going away that easy.
The teams were tied after one and the Cougars led by just three at the half, but a 15-6 third put the hosts up double digits.
Greenwood fought back early in the fourth and trimmed a 15-point deficit all the way down to two in the final minute, but clutch free throw shooting helped the host Cougars hang on for a 55-52 win.
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“We have a lot to learn from, but that’s every team in the state right now,” Greenfield-Central coach Bradley Key said. “I’m glad we survived that. I thought Greenwood, give credit to them, I watched them the other night and I thought they were much better tonight.”
The Woodmen opened their season Tuesday with a 56-40 loss to Bloomington North. Both coaches thought they were a much-improved team on Thursday.
“We showed much more team improvement since the last game,” Greenwood coach Justin Bennett said. “Greenfield-Central is a good team, and I thought we showed how good we can really be. Some of the things about being a young team kind of showed up — free throws, 50/50 balls and a couple other things — but I’m proud of them.”
The Cougars went into the fourth quarter up 39-27 and quickly hit a three to balloon that advantage to 15. They opened that lead in large part due to a hot shooting night from senior Crystal Peterson, who hit five 3-pointers and led the Cougars with 17 points.
Greenwood junior Brooklyn Stubblefield took over in the fourth quarter, though. She cut the 15-point deficit to single digits with consecutive triples, then got it down to seven with a layup early in the quarter.
The Woodmen junior had a big fourth quarter, scoring 16 of her 24 points in the final eight minutes and leading a frantic comeback attempt.
“What we told all the girls was, hey, turn it up a notch. Don’t be afraid to play anybody, just turn it up a notch and see what happens,” Bennett said. “Brooklyn is determined to win, she’s a competitive player, she’s a really good basketball player. She came out in the fourth quarter and wanted to show that she was one of the best players on the floor, and she did that. I think her teammates fed off it and I think that’s good for our team that she plays that way.”
Stubblefield led all scorers and added four rebounds, two assists and two steals. Jenna Sawyer finished with 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting, and added five rebounds.
Peterson led the Cougars in scoring, but senior standout Hannah Farrell had a big night herself, finishing with a triple-double. Farrell finished with 13 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists and two steals.
“We don’t think she played her best game tonight as a coaching staff, but you have her for a triple double, and even if she didn’t have that, it’s close,” Key said. “That’s an amazing basketball player. We’re lucky to have her.”
Despite escaping with just a three-point win, Key was pleased for the most part with how his team played. He saw a lot of positives when compared with the 2018-19 Cougars team that finished 10-14.
He saw an opportunity for growth in the way his team didn’t put away Greenwood when they had the chance.
“The scoreboard doesn’t always show as a coach how you feel like your team played. I thought as a team, we played much better one through seven than what we were able to do last year,” Key said. “That’s really encouraging for me. There weren’t many games where we were able to get up on teams and have that experience. When we get up eight, nine, 11, that’s when good teams accelerate. We’ve got to learn how to do that.”
Greenwood (0-2) will be back in action when they host New Palestine on Wednesday. Greenfield-Central (1-0) will travel to Whiteland for a 7:30 p.m. game Saturday.
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New Palestine rolled to a big win at home on Thursday, opening its season with a 68-17 victory against Connersville.
Three Dragons scored in double figures, with Jordan Reid and Isabella Gizzi each scoring 14 and Addi Jones adding 11.
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