Madelyn Poe
Columbus East had no trouble scoring in the first and third quarters Saturday afternoon.
The second and fourth periods were a different story.
The Olympians combined for 39 points in Quarters 1 and 3, but only eight in the other two. Visiting Jeffersonville outscored them 17-3 in the fourth period to break open a tight game and post a 63-47 Hoosier Hills Conference win.
East trailed 46-33 with 3 1/2 minutes left in the third quarter when it hit three straight 3-pointers and a 2-pointer to cut the lead to two heading into the final period. The Olympians were still within 48-46 with 7 minutes remaining, but managed only a free throw the rest of the way.
“We responded in the third quarter a lot better than I thought that we were going to,” East coach Kaitlin Phillips said. “We came off a run going into the fourth quarter. We just got kind of gassed, which is on my to sub a little bit more. But for the most part, I thought we competed the whole game.”
The Olympians (3-9, 1-1) jumped out to an 11-4 lead three minutes into the game. They still led 17-11 with just under three minutes left in the first half when the Red Devils (5-5, 2-2) went on an 18-2 run to take a 29-19 lead.
“I think honestly, we played pretty hard the whole game,” Phillips said. “The separation parts of it came when we were tired, and they were able to get transition buckets. Those were the big times when they were able to go on their runs.”
Madelyn Poe led East with 16 points. Caroline Frost had a career-high 13 points to go along with eight rebounds, and Messiah Trapp added nine points.
“We really got fairly decent shots,” Phillips said. “We just weren’t able to connect as well, and they started switching their defenses more, so we were struggling to find that rhythm.”
Jeffersonville 63, Columbus East 47
Jeffersonville;22;9;15;17;—;63
Columbus East;19;5;20;3;—;47
Jeffersonville (5-5, 2-2): Elle Marble 8 0-0 18, Lakyra Johnson 6 2-6 14, Makenzie Mason 0 0-0 0, Keziah Renee’ 8 1-1 20, LaQaya Gold 1 0-0 2, Skylar Thompson 1 0-0 2, Katie Lawrence 0 0-0 0, Kiya Boatwright 3 1-1 7. Totals: 27 4-8 63.
Columbus East (3-9, 1-1): Kenzi Cheek 1 0-0 3, Jenna Guse 2 0-0 4, Kimberly Carothers 0 0-0 0, Victoria Cuhadar 1 0-0 2, Messiah Trapp 4 1-6 9, Caroline Frost 6 1-1 13, Madelyn Poe 6 0-0 16, Savanna Sullivan 0 0-0 0. Totals: 20 2-7 47.
3-point goals: Jeffersonville 5 (Renee’ 3, Marble 2); Columbus East 5 (Poe 4, Cheek).
