CLARKSVILLE — Providence girls’ basketball coach Brad Burden knew his squad faced a tall order as Class 2A No. 5 Austin invaded the Robert I. Larkin Center on Friday night, so he encouraged the Pioneer fans to wear white and make the atmosphere as raucous as possible.
Unfortunately for Providence, despite the big crowd, the veteran Eagles squad wasn’t phased. Austin dominated the Pioneers for the entire matchup, coming away with a 46-point road win, 94-48.
“It’s disappointing because we played them tough last year at their place,” Burden said. “They have everybody back, but we didn’t come out very prepared tonight. We got ourselves into a hole we couldn’t dig out of early, and they took us out of a lot of the things we wanted to do.”
Austin’s senior guard duo of Chelsea Jones and Katy McIntosh — arguably the best in 2A in Southern Indiana — didn’t disappoint, combining for 48 points and 14 rebounds. Jones, a left-hander, led all scorers with 29 points, 21 of which came in the first half.
At one point in the second quarter, Jones scored 11 consecutive points for the Eagles (1-0) as Austin sprinted to a 51-22 advantage at the half.
McIntosh, who finished with 19 points, notched the first two buckets of the second half off steals, and then Jones added a 3-pointer as Austin opened the third quarter on an 11-1 run.
Forward Michelle Goodin added 15 points and grabbed 13 of Austin’s 49 rebounds. Freshman Jessie Davidson added 14 points.
Providence, who committed 24 turnovers and grabbed 13 fewer rebounds than the Eagles, simply wasn’t able to mount a charge.
Leah White paced the Pioneers (0-2) with 13 points, and Kallie Ash and Katy Flanagan added 8. Mary Graf came off the bench to notch seven points and five rebounds for Providence.
Burden said the matchup would prove to be a good measuring stick for his young squad in this young season, and that his girls remained confident following the defeat.
Nine different Pioneers scored among the 11 who saw the floor, and both squads played evenly throughout the fourth quarter.
“I was pleased with the way that some of the kids hung in there and kept fighting, and obviously this is a learning experience,” Burden said. “You have to learn from it and move on. We really promoted this game and got a big crowd here, which is what we wanted. We would have liked to put a better performance on the floor, but we’ll take it for what it is and go forward.”
Providence travels to Madison Shawe on Tuesday.
AUSTIN 25 26 28 15—94
PROVIDENCE 7 15 13 13—48
Austin (1-0) — Jones 29, McIntosh 19, Goodin 15, Davidson 14, Wooten 6, Howard 4, Dowling 2, Napier 3, Mare 2.
Providence (0-2) — White 13, Ash 8, Flanagan 8, Graf 7, Eve 3, Swartz 2, Wilson 4, Boone 1, Stiner 2, Tucker 0, Endris 0.
Three-point field goals — Austin 5 (Jones 3, Goodin, Napier); Providence 2 (Flanagan, Eve).
Rebounds — Austin 49 (Goodin 14); Providence 36 (Flanagan, White, Graf 5).
Turnovers — Austin 13, Providence 24.
JUNIOR VARISTY: Austin 29 (8-12-6-3) — Hopkins 1, Howard 7, Oefflinger 4, L. Davidson 2, Lovins 2, J. Davidson 6, Blaylock 1, Mare 2, Clark 4; Providence 12 (8-0-2-2) — Endris 2, Marriott 2, Ackerman 2, Schueler 4, Boone 2.
Clark County Sports
Pioneers suffer disappointing loss to No. 5 Austin, 94-48
Jones, McIntosh combine for 48 points for the Eagles
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