INDIANAPOLIS – It’s one thing to have size and length. It’s another to have interior players with a soft-shooting touch around the rim. Pike has both.
In a battle between one-loss Metropolitan Interscholastic Confernence rivals Saturday afternoon, the Class 4A No. 4 Red Devils (12-1) put their powerful front line to good use, scoring at will in the paint on their way to knocking off Center Grove, 56-49.
“(They’re) tall and strong, and when they catch it, they’re great finishers,” Center Grove coach Kevin Stuckmeyer said about Pike’s forwards after the game. “You play a lot of players that are tall and strong, and maybe you can get away with it because they’re not high percentage around the basket. But the two post players (Michaela White and Kinnidy Garrard), (they’re) just really good at finishing around the basket.”
White, a 6-foot senior, led the way for Pike, scoring a team-high 22 points on 10-of-15 shooting. Garrard, a 5-11 junior, added 10 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks.
“That was our goal for the game was to make sure that it was always inside first, outside second,” Pike coach Bob Anglea said. “Just managing those two (White and Garrard) in good spots against good situations. That was the key for the day.”
The Red Devils also used their length to harass the Trojans defensively. Pike forced Center Grove (10-2) into eight turnovers in the first quarter and jumped out to a 14-7 lead.
“Pike, their athleticism and their length is just different than what we’ve seen all year, so it took us a little bit to adjust there,” Stuckmeyer said.
The Red Devils maintained a seven-point advantage heading into halftime but then extended the lead to 14 by the end of the third quarter thanks in large part to White who scored eight on 4-of-5 shooting in the period.
But Center Grove made things interesting in the fourth. Senior guard Cassidy Hardin willed the Trojans back in the game. The Purdue commit scored 10 points in the final quarter and made seven 3-pointers overall on her way to a game-high 31 points.
“I’m tired of seeing her,” Anglea said after the game. “The girl can flat out shoot. I thought we played good defense on her. We made her work for every bucket except for a couple. That’s just a gift. That’s something you don’t teach. She’s a player.”
In the end Hardin’s heroics weren’t enough despite the Trojans outscoring the Red Devils 19-12 in the final period.
PIKE 56, CENTER GROVE 49
Center Grove 7 12 11 19 — 49
Pike 14 12 18 12 — 56
Center Grove (10-2) — Ella Thompson 3 1-1 7, Cassidy Hardin 11 2-4 31, Claire Rake 0 0-0 0, Ashley Eck 1 0-0 3, Amy Davis 2 0-0 4, Mary Wilson 2 0-0 4. Totals: 19 3-5 49.
Pike (12-1) —Mikia Keith 1 4-4 6, Eniya Madden 2 1-2 5, Michaela White 10 2-2 22, Mariah Brown 1 3-4 5, Desa Geisler 2 2-2 8, Kinnidy Garrard 5 0-1 10. Totals: 21 12-15 56.
3-point goals: Center Grove 8 (Hardin 7, Eck), Pike 2 (Geisler).
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