Greensburg Community High School
Lady Pirate Basketball
2009-2010



All six photos were taken by the Greensburg Daily News


 

Greensburg Girls Win Conference Opener 50-38 At Home


Nick Gonnella - Published November 26, 2009 04:40 am
Greensburg Daily News

Greensburg — The Greensburg girls basketball team won the match up between two big squads, building on a half-time lead to take the conference opener 50-38 over East Central Wednesday.

The Lady Pirates showed no signs of looking past the Trojans, with the Thanksgiving holiday and Friday’s South Decatur Classic looming.

Greensburg (4-0) scored its lowest output of the season, but played some of its best defense. The offense made enough big shots to sustain a first-half lead until it found a rhythm in the second half.

The key to the matchup was limiting East Central’s 6-foot-2 junior Emily Lehman, 5-foot-10 junior Beth Moorman, and 6-foot senior Jordan Roell, but Greensburg senior Katie Burns opened the scoring with a 3-pointer.

Senior Macey Menkedick set the defensive tone with a quick steal, but Greensburg threw passes out of bounds on its next two possessions.

East Central committed two of its own turnovers until Greensburg’s 6-foot-1 senior, Chas Lecher, drained a trey from the top of the key to give the hosts a 7-2 lead. The first quarter ended 8-4.

Foul trouble let the Trojans back into the game as they pulled to within one at 11-10.

In an ugly second quarter, the teams exchanged turnovers and fouls until Lecher finally capitalized with two free throws. She was fouled after grabbing an offensive rebound.

Moorman’s jumper tied the game at 14-all, but Greensburg regained the lead on a Lecher layup with 1:10 left in the first half.

“She rescued us early when we needed to be, and she stepped up toward the end,” said Miller of Lecher.


Greensburg senior Melanie Trammell (20)
fights off a double team from East Central’s
Emily Lehman (21) and Beth Moorman (31).
Trammell scored seven second-half points
to help the Pirates over the Trojans 50-38
Wednesday at home.
Nick Gonnella / Greensburg Daily News

After Moorman tied the game back up, at 16-all, Pirate sophomore guard Morgan Menkedick’s two foul shots gave her team an 18-16 halftime edge.

Despite committing 12 turnovers and shooting just 4-for-15 (27 percent) in the first half, Greensburg tallied 15 rebounds (13 defensively), six steals and three blocks.

Lecher led all scorers with 11 points, but she was just getting warmed up. She buried another triple to start the second-half scoring.

The Pirates outscored the Trojans 19-8 in the third quarter.

A girl whose shooting Greensburg is counting on this year, junior Laura Welage, expanded her team’s lead moments later from five points to 10 points. Welage hit a jumper, then answered a Trojan basket with a layup. After a defensive stop by Greensburg, she nailed a triple just inside the five-minute mark to pull the hosts ahead 28-18.

“She’s going to be a real good scorer before it’s all done,” said Miller of Welage.

Two minutes later, junior Hannah Doerflinger dribbled under the net and kicked out to Lecher, whose jumper put the Pirates up 30-20.

Senior Melanie Trammell, who had averaged 15 points a game heading into Wednesday night, was limited to seven. However, all of her scoring came in the second half. With a minute left in the third period, Morgan Menkedick notched a steal and passed to Trammell for a layup to preserve the double-digit lead.

Miller said he has been pleased with the sophomore’s play.

“She really was solid,” said Miller of Morgan Menkedick. “I have a lot of options I can go to, but she was as good as anybody.”

Lecher was not finished tormenting the Trojans’ defense. Near the end of the third quarter, she grabbed an offensive board, dropped in a stickback and drew a foul for a 3-point play. The sequence pleased the home crowd and gave the hosts a 37-24 edge.

“Her decision making was good. She played under control,” said Miller of Lecher. “She got better at taking her time, and was more patient.”

Lecher ended the night with a season-high 29 points and 14 rebounds, adding four blocks. She shot 11-for-18 overall, including 2-of-3 from beyond the arc.

“Chas is capable of making a lot of plays,” added Miller. “Not only is she tall and long, but she has strength, athleticism and patience.”

On the first possession of the fourth period, Welage found Lecher inside for a score that gave Greensburg a 39-24 lead - its largest of the night.

East Central drew as close as eight points, but with a minute to go, Trammell drew a pair of fouls for three more points and Lecher dropped in a layup off another offensive rebound.

Miller said Greensburg played “pretty solid defense” throughout the game and made toughness plays, such as grabbing tough rebounds, running down loose balls and finishing off defensive plays.


Greensburg senior Macey Menkedick
dribbles past East Central’s Mandi
McQueen in the Pirates’ 50-38 win in
their conference opener Wednesday
night at home.
Nick Gonnella / Greensburg Daily News

“I really like the way we played defensively,” said Miller. “East Central has good, big post players. I like where we are defensively and I still think we can get even better.”

Although Greensburg needs to tighten up some areas, according to Miller, he likes this team more than any he’s coached in previous years.

“We have legitimate depth,” he said. He noted Greensburg’s ability to utilize Doerflinger, Morgan Menkedick, sophomore Jennifer Redelman and junior Danielle Keillor off the bench.

“Everyone but Chas and Mel has a new role,” he said.

He also praised the fact that the Pirates’ helped each other out on the court and communicated with each other.

“We have unreal potential to get better,” he added. “That’s kind of exciting for me.”

Greensburg is slated to face South Decatur in tomorrow’s South Decatur Classic, the four-team holiday tournament that also features North Decatur and Hauser. The Pirates play the Cougars at 9 a.m., while North faces Hauser at 11 a.m.

The consolation game and championship game will follow. The late tipoffs are scheduled for 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Scoring by Quarter:

EC - 4 12 8 14 -- 38

GB - 8 10 19 13 -- 50

Greensburg (50): Lecher 29 points, 14 rebounds, 4 blocked shots; Welage 7 points, 3 assists; Trammell 7 points, 3 steals, three rebounds; Burns 3 points; Morgan Menkedick 2 points, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 rebound; Macey Menkedick and Tess Christian 1 point each.

The junior varsity squad lost to East Central 44-26 in the first game. Clare Owens and Jennifer Redelman led Greensburg with seven points each. Courtney Smith scored five points and Becca Haler scored four. Shelby Ward added two and Audrey Geis chipped in one.

The JV team notched 13 steals and 17 rebounds.
 

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