H.S. GIRLS' BASKETBALL: Marcum leads New Albany to double overtime win over rival Highlanders

Related Photos

New Albany forward Brianne Nixon and Floyd Central center Niki Bruno struggle for possession of a loose ball during their game at New Albany on Saturday. New Albany won the game in double overtime, 69-64. Staff photo by Christopher Fryer
New Albany guard Tanner Marcum drives the ball down court during their home game against Floyd Central on Saturday. New Albany won the game in double overtime, 69-64. Staff photo by Christopher Fryer
Floyd Central guards Brooke Hinton, left, and Shelby Rost fight for possession of a loose ball with New Albany guard Lauren Camm and forward Brianne Nixon, right, during their game at New Albany on Saturday. New Albany won the game in double overtime, 69-64. Staff photo by Christopher Fryer
Floyd Central forward Abbie Engle goes up for a shot during their game against New Albany on Saturday at New Albany. New Albany won the game in double overtime, 69-64. Staff photo by Christopher Fryer
New Albany guard Lauren Camm goes up for a shot during their home game against Floyd Central on Saturday. New Albany won the game in double overtime, 69-64. Staff photo by Christopher Fryer
New Albany guard Tanner Marcum drives the ball to the basket during their home game against Floyd Central on Saturday. New Albany won the game in double overtime, 69-64. Staff photo by Christopher Fryer
New Albany guard Stephanie Iglesias covers Floyd Central guard Shelby Rost during their game at New Albany on Saturday. New Albany won the game in double overtime, 69-64. Staff photo by Christopher Fryer
Floyd Central center Tori Kingsley struggles with New Albany guards Jenna Shine, center, and Lauren Camm for possession of a loose ball during their game at New Albany on Saturday. New Albany won the game in double overtime, 69-64. Staff photo by Christopher Fryer
Floyd Central guard Brooke Hinton goes up for a shot during their game against New Albany on Saturday at New Albany. New Albany won the game in double overtime, 69-64. Staff photo by Christopher Fryer
New Albany guard Aaliyah Bell drives the ball to the basket during their home game against Floyd Central on Saturday. New Albany won the game in double overtime, 69-64. Staff photo by Christopher Fryer

Discussion

January 6, 2013

H.S. GIRLS' BASKETBALL: Marcum leads New Albany to double overtime win over rival Highlanders

By JON REITER sports@newsandtribune.com The News and Tribune Sun Jan 06, 2013, 03:54 AM EST

NEW ALBANY — In the battle for Floyd County girls’ basketball supremacy, the host New Albany Bulldogs outlasted rival Floyd Central to capture a 69-64 double-overtime win at the Doghouse last night.

“We got some big plays in those last two overtime periods when we had to have them, and not from just Tanner [Marcum],” said New Albany coach Tammy Geron. “We’ve talked about that, not just standing around, but becoming an active part of the ballgame. And I feel like we got that from a few people tonight, and boy did we need it.”

The Bulldogs came into Saturday’s contest having dropped four of their last five contests, and Geron said the win over the Highlanders (8-6) was a “must-have.”

And, as in other instances where New Albany has needed a play, a shot — or anything else — the difference came from Marcum, the 5-foot-6 senior guard and All-State candidate.

Marcum notched her 1,000th point as a Bulldog in a loss to Madison earlier this week and scored 38 points against the Cubs. All Marcum did was follow that up with 32 last night — including 16 in combined in the two overtime periods.

After Brooke Hinton sank two free throws to make the score 58-56 Floyd Central with 3:20 left in the second overtime period, Marcum nailed a 3-pointer, scored off a backdoor cut and feed from forward Lauren Camm, and made 2-of-3 free throws over the course of a minute to give New Albany a 63-58 lead with 2 minutes remaining.

The sudden scoring burst finally put the Highlanders down for good in a wild contest that saw almost two dozen lead changes and a combined six players foul out from both squads.

Floyd Central coach Kirk Hamsley expressed some grudging respect for Marcum’s play.

“For her to be able to play that aggressively on defense and pick up so few fouls over the course of the game is pretty special,” he said.

By the time the game was over, starters Madison Kaiser, Hinton and Niki Bruno, who combined for 34 points and 25 rebounds, were disqualified due to fouls, along with top reserve Abbie Engle.

Hamsley said that amount of slack was too much for his squad to pick up.

“By the time the game was over, we had three freshmen in and others who don’t normally see that much playing time,” he said. “It’s good for them to get that experience, but it sure did hurt us in this game.”

New Albany starters Claire Hirsch and Brianne Nixon also fouled out, but a key contributor for the Bulldogs was freshman Aaliyah Bell, who finished with 10 points.

“This was probably Aaliyah’s best game for us, and it came at a time when we really needed her to step up,” Geron said. “For a freshman to come through like that in a big ballgame ... it’s going to give her a big confidence boost.”

Tori Kingsley led Floyd Central with 17 points and 12 rebounds.

New Albany plays at South Oldham (Ky.) Tuesday night. Floyd Central hosts Bedford North Lawrence in another Hoosier Hills Conference game on Saturday.