> SOUTHERN INDIANA — The Silver Creek girls’ basketball team pulled to within a half-game of Mid-Southern Conference leader Scottsburg on Saturday with a 51-44 victory over Brownstown Central.

Senior forward Alex Tinsley had an efficient game for the Dragons. She scored a game-high 24 points, shooting 9-of-11 from the field and 6-of-7 from the free-throw line. She also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.

Teammate Emily Clayton chipped in 16 points.

Silver Creek coach Scott Schoen thinks Tinsley and Clayton have the potential to be a consistent scoring duo for the Dragons for the rest of the season.

“If we can get that many points from those two, we should be pretty good. Alex Tinsley played great,” Schoen said.

Schoen was thrilled with his team’s first-half play, as Silver Creek led 26-15 at halftime. But the Dragons came out sluggish in third quarter and were outscored 15-10 by the Braves, who cut their deficit to six points. At one point in the third, Silver Creek committed six consecutive turnovers.

“We got out of the gate strong. The first half was one of the best halves we’ve had all season,” Schoen said. “But I thought we relaxed and lost focus in the second half. We lacked concentration.”

Silver Creek senior Lexi McFarland had six points and a team-high four assists. The Dragons have a 4-1 MSC record and are tied with Austin for second place, while first-place Scottsburg is the lone unbeaten MSC team at  4-0.

NEXT: Silver Creek (6-2) plays Clarksville in the first round of the Charlestown Holiday Tournament, Friday.

• Bulldogs fall at Castle: Visiting New Albany dropped below .500 for the first time this season with a 52-44 loss on Saturday at Castle.

Senior guard Tanner Marcum paced the Bulldogs with a season-high 27 points. She is now 52 points away from scoring 1,000 in her high school career.

Bulldog senior Brianne Nixon chipped in 10 points.

New Albany led 24-19 at intermission, but the Knights responded by outscoring the Bulldogs 22-10 in the third period to take a 41-34 advantage.

“We played well in the first half, but in the third quarter, we lost our composure,” New Albany coach Tammy Geron said. “We got whipped on the boards and gave up too many offensive rebounds.”

NEXT: New Albany (4-5) at Indianapolis North Central in the first round of the North Central Tournament, Dec. 27.

• Two Braves record career-highs in 71-33 win: Senior Leslie Beatty and freshman Natalie Ruedinger each posted a career-high point total in Borden’s 71-33 home victory against Medora on Saturday.

Beatty posted a game-high 29 points, while Ruedinger poured in 19. Along with praising both players, Braves’ coach Terry Rademacher lauded junior guard Shelby Kirchgessner for distributing the ball to both players.

“Shelby Kirchgessner did a great job of leading the fast break and finding people. We played well throughout the game,” Rademacher said.

NEXT: Borden (6-3) at Silver Creek, Jan. 3.



BOYS’ BASKETBALL

• Hornets drop to 0-7: Visiting Henryville stayed winless in an 89-47 loss at Southwestern on Saturday.

Senior Tyler Collins led the Hornets with 12 points, while teammate Cody Reister chipped in 10.

Henryville had no answer for Rebels’ senior Gunnar Henry, who registered a game-high 30 points.

NEXT: Henryville (0-7) hosts Oldenburg Academy in the first round of the McKee Munk Invitational, Dec. 27.



SWIMMING

• Highlanders dominate Floyd Invitational: Floyd Central’s girls won every event and the Highlander boys won all but three in winning Saturday’s 24-event Floyd Central Invitational.

Meg Taylor, Layah Jones and Maryn Meldrum each won four times for the Floyd girls. Individually, Taylor won the 200- and 500-yard freestyle races, Jones won the 100 freestyle and the 200 individual medley and Meldrum was victorious in the 100 breaststroke and the 50 free. All three were also on two winning relay teams.

Sarah Taylor also won the backstroke and Amy McCormick took the butterfly.

For the Highlander boys, Eli and Oscar Anderson were four-time winnings, while Kyle Crater earned three blue ribbons. Eli Anderson took first place in the 200 freestyle and 100 free and Oscar Anderson touched the wall first in the 200 IM and the 100 butterfly. Crater won the 500 free and teamed with both Andersons to win the 200 and 400 free relays.

Outside of Floyd, Silver Creek’s Gabe Salinas was the only local top-three finisher. He finished second in the 200 IM behind Oscar Anderson.

NEXT: Floyd Central hosts Jennings County, Tuesday. Silver Creek, Charlestown and Providence off until 2013.