Strong start helps Lady T-Birds roll past Union (Dugger)

Union (Dugger) sophomore Cheyenne Goodman (20) tries to dribble past Eastern Greene defender Sydney Spice (4) during a high school girls basketball game Tuesday at Little Cincinnati. Eastern Greene sophomore Brittany Igel also is pictured. (By Rick Curl/Greene County Daily World). [Order this photo]

It was the Southwestern Indiana Athletic Conference opener for both teams and the opening contest of the year for Eastern Greene.

"I thought especially in the first quarter and the third quarter we really set the tone defensively and really locked Dugger down in the half court," Eastern Greene coach Dan Fidago said.

It limited the Lady Bulldogs to a dismal three points in the first quarter and nine in the third while the Lady Thunderbirds countered with 13 in the opening stanza and 17 out of the break.

"They've got some really good shooters that if they can get going they can play with anybody," Fidago said. "They didn't get tired from running up and down the court with us. Our offense created from our defense was the big key tonight."

Brittany Igel led Eastern Greene's scoring parade with 14 points followed by Alexis Ray with 13, Kasey Rogers hit for a dozen and Sam Reed with 10 in a contest they all helped dominate on the inside -- and counter the Lady Bulldogs' post presence Shayna Nicol.

"We had some really nice post play tonight," Fidago said. "Brittany, Sam and Kasey inside, all three controlled the boards.

"They did a real nice job of not only working hard to get open, but our guards did a real nice job of getting it to them when they were open and they finished."

The group managed to hold Nicol to 12 points and just nine rebounds.

"She's a strong girl," Lady Bulldogs (1-1, 0-1 SWIAC) coach Benji Boyd said. "But she's going to face bigger and stronger girls down in the paint and tonight she got a little frustrated."

That advantage inside in turn helped the Lady Thunderbirds stop the outside shooting threat of Union (Dugger) sophomore guard Cheyenne Goodman.

Goodman had been pegged by Boyd to take up the slack left by the graduation of Makaylee Pirtle and Megan Gambill.

"We knew those were their two strike first and attack type weapons," Fidago said. "We had to shut them down to be successful.

"If they get going I really think that team can play with anyone. If you let those two get going, they just get better with confidence."

Fidago got the containment and control he wanted, especially on Goodman. She was held to just 2-of-13 shooting from the field (including 1-of-9 from 3-point range) and was frustrated by the defensive efforts of Eastern Greene's perimeter players.

"We knew she had range and was not shy at all about shooting the ball," Fidago said. "There were times she was able to break free. But we had a great effort on her and all of our guards really worked hard to contain her off the dribble and shooting."

The Lady Thunderbirds' dominance on the inside also had another benefit according to Fidago -- it made the outside shooters' job a lot easier.

"We really did a nice job of being able to get the ball low and being able to get 10 and 15 foot jump shots instead of 16 and 18 footers, which is good against a zone, and they play a very good zone."

Eastern Greene took control early sprinting to a 13-3 lead at the first stop, 30-11 at the half and 47-20 after three quarters.

Igel, Ray, Rogers and Reed all grabbed baskets in the opening stanza and helped hold the Lady Bulldogs to just 1-of-9 shooting in the quarter and 3-of-16 in the half.

Goodman got the Lady Bulldogs within a single point for the only time of the evening when she converted the first of two free throws on their first possession of the contest.

It came after Rogers opened the scoring with an lay-up less than 10 seconds into the contest.

After Goodman's free throw, Eastern Greene went on a decisive 13-2 run to close out the quarter and set the tone for the remainder of the half.

Baskets by Reed and Ray on successive trips down the floor pushed the gap 8-1 before the Lady Thunderbirds slowed themselves down with a missed shot and a turnover on their next two possessions.

Meanwhile Union (Dugger) was unable to hang on to the basketball coughing it up four times and missing shots four times.

For Boyd, the biggest challenge resulting from such a lopsided defeat is keeping his team focused on what lies ahead instead of what just happened.

"We've got to use these times not to hang our heads and say woe is me, we got beat by 30, but to get better," he said. "Those are the kind of teams we've got to eventually be able to compete with."

Eastern Greene returns to action Friday when they travel to Bedford North Lawrence for a 6 p.m. contest while the Lady Bulldogs host Eminence in a 6 p.m. varsity-only contest on Thursday night.

UNION (DUGGER) (31) -- Morgan Stanifer 0-5 2-4 2, Stephanie Dickison 0-0 0-0 0, Cheyenne Goodman 2-13 1-2 6, Conner Kendall 0-0 2-2 2, Chelsea Goodman 3-8 0-0 9, Taylor Woods 0-2 0-0 0, Shayna Nicol 4-8 4-8 12. Totals 9-33 9-16 31.

EASTERN GREENE (59) -- Brooke Butler 0-0 0-0 0, Sydney Spice 1-6 0-0 2, Mikaela New 0-3 0-0 0, Kayla Milnes 1-2 0-0 2, Brittany Igel 6-13 2-3 14, Kierstin Southern 0-0 0-0 0, Alexis Ray 6-15 1-2 13, Kelsey Wagner 1-3 0-0 2, Kasey Rogers 6-7 0-2 12, Sam Reed 5-12 0-0 10, Holly Hammock 1-2 0-0 2, Cora Sherfield 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 28-65 3-7 59.

3-point shooting -- Union (Dugger) 4-18 (Cheyenne Goodman 1-9, Chelsea Goodman 3-4, Stanifer 0-2, Woods 0-2, Nicol 0-1). Eastern Greene 0-3 (Ray 0-2, New 0-1). Fouls -- Union (Dugger) 9, Eastern Greene 15. Fouled out -- None. Rebounds -- Union (Dugger) 19 (Nicol 9), Eastern Greene 47 (Reed 12). Steals -- Union (Dugger) 8 (Stanifer 5), Eastern Greene 18 (Spice 4). Blocked shots -- Union (Dugger) none. Eastern Greene 3 (Wagner, Milnes, Rogers). Turnovers -- Union (Dugger) 25, Eastern Greene 19.