By GREG MENGELT
SELLERSBURG — The Silver Creek girls’ basketball team went on a 24-6 run midway through the second half to turn what had been a tight ballgame into a comfortable 52-44 win over visiting Providence on Wednesday.
With 4:30 to play in the third quarter, Providence sophomore Abby Swartz scored on a layup to tie the game at 28 apiece. Over the next eight minutes, Silver Creek produced the 24-6 spurt to put the Pioneers (1-6) away.
The Dragons (5-3) went on a 16-3 run in a span of two minutes and 55 seconds late in the third quarter to take a 44-31 lead. After a late Kallie Ash 3-pointer cut the Creek lead to 44-34 at the end of three quarters, the Dragons scored the first eight points of the fourth for their biggest lead of the night, 52-34.
“That was the run that killed us,” Providence coach Brad Burden said. “They had a couple of balls bounce their way, had a couple of shots fall and we didn’t do anything to counter (the run) offensively.
Silver Creek coach Ryan Apple said that some halftime adjustments made the difference.
“In the first half, they were getting good penetration,” Apple recalled. “We switched some things up, switched some (personnel) up and that enabled us to make that run.
“We’re a jump-shooting team, so we’re streaky anyway. We’re going to have spurts when we’re scoring and spurts when we’re not. We just hope that when we do have spurts, it’s enough to get us through the game.”
Silver Creek’s Mandi Martin, who had a team-high 13 points, scored seven points during the run, and Alex Tinsley added five of her 11 points during the stretch.
Apple credited Tinsley, who also had six rebounds, two assists and a deflection, and reserve guard Tiphany Harper for helping turn the game around.
“I thought we got great minutes from Tinsley and Harper,” Apple said. “Tiphany gave us a defensive spark and both of them gave us a huge spark.”
One key to the win was the Dragons’ ability to hold Providence star Megan Eve to 11 points on 3-of-15 shooting. The Pioneers were down 12-9 at the end of the first period and 27-24 at the half despite their senior sharpshooter hitting two of her nine shots from the floor in the first half.
“You cannot stop her,” Apple said of the Dragons’ game plan. “Every game you see in the paper, Eve with 22 points or Eve with 19 points. We did a pretty good job on her. She has incredible range and she’s a good ballplayer.”
Ash led the Pioneers with 13 points and also had four rebounds, an assist, a steal and a blocked shot. Leah White had 10 points, two assists and a team-high three steals, all in the third period.
Providence will host 5-4 Henryville on Friday. The following night, the Dragons will entertain winless Corydon Central.
PROVIDENCE 9 15 10 10—44
SILVER CREEK 12 15 17 8—52
Providence (1-6) — Ash 13, Eve 11, Graf 1, Flanagan 3, White 10, Swartz 6.
Silver Creek (5-3) — Harper 4, Clayton 8, Kim Jamros 6, Voyles 8, Tinsley 11, Martin 13, Rogers 2.
3-point field goals — Providence 6 (Eve 3, Ash 2, White); Silver Creek 2 (Clayton 2).
Rebounds — Providence 23 (Ash, Swartz 5); Silver Creek 31 (Rogers 8).
Turnovers — Providence 10, Silver Creek 10.
