Saige Stahl
Playing its third game in four nights, the Columbus East girls basketball team faced a tall, athletic and undefeated Corydon Central team Saturday.
Those two factors didn’t help the Olympians, who were playing less than 24 hours after pulling out a three-point win Friday night at Mooresville. On Saturday, Class 3A No. 7 Corydon handed East a 59-45 defeat.
“I think it’s more just that Corydon is a really outstanding team,” East coach Danny Brown said. “We may have been gassed a little bit, but we still got beat on the boards. We didn’t put pressure on the ballhandlers out front, and we got beat off the dribble. I’m not sure that’s three-games-in-four-days. We still have to give that effort.”
The Panthers (8-0) outrebounded the Olympians (3-3) 31-19, with many of Corydon’s rebounds coming on the offensive end.
“We have to have better rebounding inside,” Brown said. “I thought that was the key to the game. We didn’t rebound.”
The game was tied 8-8 when the Panthers closed the first quarter on a 12-2 run to take a 20-10 lead. When Corydon’s Bailey Orme hit her third consecutive 3-pointer in less than a minute, the Panthers led 23-10 in the opening seconds of the second period.
East then limited Corydon to one field goal the remainder of the first half and outscored the Panthers 15-5 to get back to within 28-25 at the break.
The Olympians came as close as 32-31 midway through the third quarter and had a layup to take the lead, but couldn’t convert. Corydon then finished the third quarter on a 9-3 run to take a 41-34 lead, and East could get no closer than five in the final period.
Saige Stahl led the Olympians with 20 points and eight rebounds, while Allison Craig added 10 points. Ava Weber led the Panthers with 28 points and 10 rebounds, while Orme finished with 12 points on four 3-pointers.
“I give a lot of credit to them,” Brown said. “They’re a really good team. That’s the first time we’ve ever played them. That’s a team that can go a long way.”
East now has a couple days off before hosting Brownstown Central on Tuesday.
“They’re always scrappy,” Brown said. “They’re always going to come after you. We’ve had good luck against them over the years, but we can’t take a game off. We have too tough of a schedule. We have to be ready to go.”
Corydon Central 59, Columbus East 45
Corydon Central;20;8;13;18;—;59
Columbus East;10;15;9;11;—;45
Corydon Central (8-0): Reese Withers 0 0-0 0, Bre Edwards 0 0-0 0, Ava Weber 10 8-13 28, Morgan Adams 4 1-2 9, Bailey Orme 4 0-0 12, Josie Vaughn 3 0-0 6, Jordin McCarty 0 0-0 0, Alyssa Groover 2 0-0 4. Totals: 23 9-15 59.
Columbus East (3-3): Jenna Guse 2 0-0 4, Kimberly Carothers 0 0-0 0, Victoria Cuhadar 0 2-2 2, Allison Craig 3 3-3 10, Maeleigh Roberts 1 0-0 3, Heidi Murphy 0 0-0 0, Saige Stahl 5 9-11 20, Brielle Stevens 0 0-0 0, Leah Bachmann 2 2-2 6, Messiah Trapp 0 0-0 0. Totals: 13 16-18 45.
3-point goals: Corydon Central 4 (Orme 4); Columbus East 3 (Craig, Roberts, Stahl).
