Shelbyville tried to run a little and tired quickly.
Shelbyville tried to aggressively defend and got a little sloppy.
But that does not deter the message head coach Scott Larrabee delivers even after a 54-38 loss Tuesday to Greensburg.
"I think we're getting better," said Larrabee. "We're very young in terms of age and also roles. We have a group that wants to improve and we did some good things tonight that we had worked on."
The Golden Bears (1-2) played a solid first quarter against a similarly-young Pirates squad and new coach Jason Simpson.
Morgan Parker made a three-pointer and Kimmie Griffin followed with a basket from close range to give Shelbyville a 7-4 lead midway through the quarter.
Abbey Denton hit a 3 just 13 seconds later to tie a game that got ragged at times with both teams trying to push advantages. Each team finished with five first-quarter turnovers.
A baseline drive and score by Alexis Tackett gave the Golden Bears an 11-10 lead after one quarter.
Both teams continued with their shooting woes in the second quarter but the Pirates (2-0) made a trio of 3s, two by Denton, to open up a 24-15 lead with 92 seconds left until halftime.
Taylor Perry hit a runner in the lane and Tackett pulled off a nifty feat of athleticism by gathering in a loose ball underneath the net, shifting it between hands between her legs and tossing it up for a layin from a tough angle in the final seconds to cut the lead to four.
Cassady Skipton, shifting to more of a back court role this season, banked in a 12-foot jumper to open the scoring in the third quarter then hit a second jumper to tie the game.
That's when Greensburg freshman Kyra Whitaker started racking up points from the free throw line and Taylor McIntosh scored eight straight to open up a 33-24 lead.
"I thought their defensive pressure as the game wore on and our foul trouble was the difference in the (final) margin," said Larrabee.
Whitaker, who had two points at halftime, hit six straight free throws in the third quarter and scored off a drive to the rim to extend Greensburg's lead to 41-27 after three quarters.
She added two more free throws to start her team's scoring in the fourth quarter and followed it with a 3-pointer to push the lead to 17.
"They have good depth," said Larrabee of the Pirates' roster. "And they have a heck of a freshman point guard (Whitaker). She is going to be a very good player."
Whitaker finished with a team-high 15 points and had three rebounds and three assists.
Denton and McIntosh each had nine points and combined for five of the Pirates' eight made 3s.
"The second half they really spread us out and didn't play any of their post players," said Larrabee. "They have three or four girls that can drive and kick, and they have shooters. They are a tough team to guard."
Tackett led the Golden Bears with 17 points and three rebounds.
Perry scored five points and had a team-high eight rebounds.
Notes: Shelbyville was 14-for-41 from the field and 8-of-17 from the free throw line. Greensburg was 16-of-44 from the field and 14-of-18 from the charity stripe. ... The Golden Bears outrebounded the Pirates 25-22. ... Shelbyville commited 17 turnovers to just 10 for Greensburg. ... There are five freshmen listed on Greensburg's varsity roster including freshman twins Ashlynn and Bailey Meyer, daughters of former Southwestern basketball coach Stacy Meyer, who has won the last two Class 3A boys basketball state titles at Greensburg. ... The Pirates won the junior varsity game, 63-18. Madalyn Toll and Cloe Phares each had five points to lead the Golden Bears (0-3).
