Shelbyville Lady Golden Bears Basketball

Alexis Tackett finished with 15 points and seven rebounds and Cora Reinhart took the floor for the first time this year and contributed five points and two rebounds.

"I felt like we could get into a few good rotations in terms of subbing for the first time, especially in that first half," said Shelbyville coach Scott Larrabee. "Anytime you add more depth, that helps the team. It was fun tonight."

Reinhart, a sophomore guard has been rehabilitating a foot injury suffered during cross country season, scored in the lane for her first two points of the season midway through the second quarter to finish off the Golden Bears' third big run of the first half.

"She gives us more flexibility," said Larrabee. "She's got great leadership skills on the offensive and defensive ends. She's a real competitor and team player."

After falling behind 2-0, Parker hit a three-pointer to start a 9-0 run that she finished off with a steal, score and a free throw.

After the Achaeans (2-5) cut the lead to 9-5, Tackett drained a 15-footer that started a 10-0 to the end of the first quarter.

And Shelbyville's defense smothered a Herron offense into 11 first-quarter turnovers. The Achaeans made it worse by shooting 2-of-8 from the field in the opening eight minutes and 2-of-11 in the second quarter.

Parker took over the game in the third quarter, hitting 5 of 9 shots and a pair of free throws for 12 of her game-high 23 points.

The Golden Bears led 52-18 after three quarters and four of the five starters never got off the bench in the fourth quarter.

Only Abby Smith, who had 10 points and three assists, stayed on the court running the offense with Madalyn Toll, Abby Orem, Betsy Suarez and Madison Ewing.

Orem had a team-high 10 rebounds, including seven of Shelbyville's 24 offensive rebounds.

"Our girls go after the basketball," said Larrabee. "We've done that pretty consistently for seven games this season which is a nice weapon to have on the offensive end."

Cennie Scott and Silexis Townsend each had eight points to lead Herron.

Pendleton Heights retained possession, and Dooley drove the lane for the layup and was fouled. She again missed the free throw, and the ball this time bounced off Shelbyville sophomore Alexis Tackett’s foot and out of bounds.

So the Arabians retained possession again and within the first minute of the quarter, scored a third time on a jumper by Morgan Landes.

That sequence exemplified the long night the Golden Bears experienced.

“It’s a long season,” said Shelbyville coach Scott Larrabee. “I try to not put too much emphasis on any one game. We just have to move on from this one.”

That six-point stretch in the first minute came in the midst of a second half in which the Arabians outscored the Golden Bears, 33-5.

Tackett scored with 5:33 remaining in the third, making it 38-20. The Golden Bears (3-3 overall, 0-1 HHC) wouldn’t score again until 1:27 remained in the game when junior Madalyn Toll knocked down a 3-pointer from the top of the key.

The scoring drought actually started midway through the second quarter.

Down 24-11, the Golden Bears scored five straight points on a layup and put back by Tackett and a free throw by junior Morgan Parker.

Shelbyville would go about 3-1/2 minutes before scoring again, allowing an 11-0 run by the Arabians that finally ended on a running jumper by junior Kimmie Griffin with 30 seconds remaining in the half.

“I thought we had some good looks in the first half. They just didn’t drop,” Larrabee said. “Anytime a margin got to what it was, obviously, it’s easy to make shots when you’re leading by the margin that it was. We just have to learn from this one and get ready to play (next) Friday night.”

The offensive struggles started early.

Pendleton Heights opened the game with a 10-1 run in large part because Shelbyville turned the ball over six times in the first quarter. The Golden Bears committed 22 turnovers in the game.

“Pendleton did a nice job with their length, really made it tough on us moving the basketball,” Larrabee said. “I thought they did a really good job in the first half knocking down some perimeter shots, which really opened things up for them in the paint as well.”

When Shelbyville wasn’t turning the ball over, it still had problems hitting shots.

Shelbyville, led by Tackett’s 14 points, shot 32 percent from the field in the first half, 12 percent in the second half and 24 percent for the game. The Golden Bears made 1-of-14 3-point attempts, with Parker missing all eight of her shots.

The Arabians, meanwhile, shot 51 percent in the first half in taking a 35-18 lead into halftime and 51 percent for the game. They had three players in double figures, led by senior Kelsee Wendling’s 14 points on 7-for-14 shooting.

Shelbyville will try to get back on track at 6 p.m. Friday at home against Class 3A Indianapolis Herron.

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).