GIRLS’ HOOPS: Bulldogs get past Madison to stay undefeated in HHC 45-41

By GREG BURTON

Special to Southern Indiana Preps

NEW ALBANY — The shooting for New Albany inside the gym matched the bracing cold outside Thursday night. The Lady Bulldogs got enough, however, to get by visiting Madison.

New Albany led nearly the entire game, fell behind briefly in the fourth quarter, and then did what it needed to do to win by a 45-41 score.

The Lady Bulldogs shot 19-of-55 from the floor (34.5 percent). Included in that total was an 0-for-11 number from beyond the 3-point arc.

“It was ugly. But we came out with a win, and that’s the objective,” said New Albany coach Tammy Geron.

The victory snapped a four-game losing streak, and ran the Lady Bulldogs’ record to 9-7 overall and 3-0 in the Hoosier Hills Conference.

“We didn’t shoot the ball well. It’s probably the worst we’ve shot in a long time. You’re going to have nights like that, but you’ve got to overcome it,” added Geron.

New Albany jumped out to a quick 8-0 lead due mainly to 6-foot-2 senior Kelsy Taylor, who scored the first six points of the game.

Taylor finished the game with 10 points. But she dominated more on the glass, cleaning 12 rebounds, including four offensive boards.

“On a night like tonight when you’re not hitting shots, we’ve got to get offensive rebounds, and we got some big ones tonight down the stretch,” said Geron.

On the night, New Albany grabbed 13 offensive rebounds as a team.

After the initial 8-0 run, Madison (6-11, 1-5 HHC) slowly climbed back into the game, thanks in large part to New Albany running into some foul problems.

New Albany led 10-5 at the end of the first quarter. Madison climbed to with a single point at 12-11, forcing Geron to call a timeout with 4:57 to go until halftime.

“We were able to pressure them at the beginning of the game and speed the game up,” said Geron. “We got out to the good lead, but we had to change that up when we got into foul trouble. That played into their favor.”

After the timeout, New Albany scored the final eight points of the half and led at the break, 20-11.

The third quarter saw Madison trim the deficit again to five points by quarter’s end at 31-26. The Lady Cubs then scored the first six points of the fourth period to take their first lead of the game at 32-31.

New Albany immediately got the lead back on a bucket by Savanna Pinkston. Madison reclaimed the lead on two free throws by Hannah Imel. New Albany’s Ally Willis gave the lead back to the Lady Bulldogs for good with a bucket.

Down by three points at 43-40, Madison had a final opportunity to tie, but a 3-point attempt by Paige Young did not fall. Willis then got fouled and hit two free throws with 1.9 seconds to play made it 45-40.

Madison was fouled on the last play, and the Cubs’ Bailey Dyer hit 1-of-2 free throws to end the scoring at 45-41.

“I was real proud of the kids at the end, especially after (Madison) got the lead in the end, and we got it back and in control,” said Geron.

Pinkston joined Taylor with 10 points. The Lady Bulldogs had a balanced attack. Willis and Alayasia Douglas each had eight and Julyen Condra added seven. Imel was the game’s leading scorer with 21 points.

New Albany will return to Hoosier Hills action on Saturday at Floyd Central (7-10, 0-4), tipping off at 7:30 p.m. Madison will play at Silver Creek (7-10) at about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

NEW ALBANY 45, MADISON 41

Madison                5    6  15  15—41

New Albany       10   10  11  14—45

Madison (6-11, 1-5 HHC): Jade Nutley 3-9 3-5 10, Hannah Imel 5-13 11-13 21, Bailey Dyer 3-3 2-2 8, Harper Watson 1-4 0-0 2, Jessie Dyer 0-0 0-0 0, Paige Young 0-4 0-0 0, Daesja Jay 0-0 0-0 0, Morgan Cahall 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 12-33 16-20 41.

New Albany (9-7, 3-0): Julyen Condra 3-14 1-5 7, Alayasia Douglas 4-10 0-0 8, Ally Willis 2-9 4-5 8, Savanna Pinkston 4-8 2-3 10, Kelsy Taylor 5-13 0-0 10, Mya Jackson 1-1 0-0 2, Abigail Baxter 0-0 0-0 0, Layne Burke 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-55 7-13 45.

3-point field goals: Madison 1-5 (Nutley 1-2, Imel 0-1, Young 0-2); New Albany 0-11 (Condra 0-3, Douglas 0-4, Willis 0-4).

Rebounds: Madison 29 (Nutley 9, Imel 7, B. Dyer 7); New Albany 28 (Taylor 12, Pinkston 7).

Turnovers: Madison 17, New Albany 9.

Total fouls: Madison 18, New Albany 18.

Fouled out: Madison — Watson.

Junior varsity: Madison 37, New Albany 35.