DANVILLE — Tenacious defensive play led the Brownsburg girls’ basketball team to a 59-52 victory over Plainfield Saturday night in the championship game of the Hendricks County Tournament.
Brownsburg forced 17 Plainfield turnovers and took advantage of lapses in the Quakers’ defense.
“We really wanted it and you could tell when they stepped onto the court today they were not going to let anything get past them,” Brownsburg coach Amy Brauman said. “(Plainfield) plays such aggressive defense, we did a great job of getting the ball down the floor and we just had some wide-open looks.”
It was a disappointing performance for the Quakers, who were trying to defend their 2008 championship.
“We didn’t play very well and there are several thing we’ve gotta do with the main thing being decision making,” Plainfield coach Curt Benge said. “Defensively we have got to get some things ironed out where we are not leaving people open. Offensively, we have to learn to settle down a little bit.”
Defense and turnovers were pivotal in the first quarter as Brownsburg totaled eight to Plainfield’s six. Brownsburg led 10-8 at the end of the period due in large part to freshman Stephanie Mavunga who had eight points for the Bulldogs.
“Stephanie is very athletic and at 6-foot-2 she is intimidating,” Brauman said. “She is a great shot blocker and offensively she is hard to stop when she gets the ball.”
Brownsburg opened up with a 5-1 run to begin the second quarter to take a 15-9 lead before Benge called a timeout to regroup.
Plainfield continued to struggle to score because of the zone defense Brownsburg employed after the timeout in an effort to combat Quaker Julia Henson, who scored 15 points in the semi-final against Avon, but was held scoreless in this contest.
“Our zone worked well and once we started rebounding it worked even better,” Brauman said. “Henson is such a great player and we wanted to shut her down and Ryne (Carr) did a great job guarding her.”
Brownsburg continued adding to its lead and went up 23-13 with just over a minute left before the break.
Two late three-pointers by Quaker Jamie Lydick brought Plainfield back within six as Brownsburg took a 25-19 lead into the half.
Lydick led all scorers with nine points at the break while Mavunga had eight for Brownsburg.
Kasey Johnson started off with seven points in the third quarter and brought the Quakers to within two of the Bulldogs at 34-32, but Brownsburg answered the Plainfield run and extended its lead to 39-32 going into the fourth quarter.
“We have had some difficult games in the past and haven’t been able to respond,” Brauman said. “For them to be able to step up and respond like that, it is huge.”
Plainfield could not overtake the Bulldogs down the stretch as Brownsburg continued to outplay the Quakers and sealed the victory.
Benge hopes the loss will help the Quakers improve as the season continues.
“We talked before the game that win or lose, it’s not the whole season,” Benge said. “The girls get to see what we did wrong and we get a chance to go fix it.”
Mavunga led Brownsburg with 15 points and teammate Morgan Miller scored 12 while Lydick had 17 and Johnson tallied 15 for Plainfield.
Sports
Bulldogs win county title
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Bethesda makes history with sectional win
BROWNSBURG — Senior Olivia Harrison literally helped build Bethesda Christian’s field four years ago and Thursday night she was instrumental in breaking ground in another area for the Patriots — a sectional championship.
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Cadets fall to Eagles in sectional final
CLAYTON — Despite all of Cascade’s best efforts, the Cadets came up short in their sectional softball final for the second consecutive year. Three Cadet errors late in the game set up the South Putnam Eagles’ win.
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Heartbreaking loss ends Orioles’ season prematurely
INDIANAPOLIS — It was not supposed to end like this.
Graduating only two seniors from last year’s Class 4A state runner-up softball team and returning the core of its squad, this was going to be to the season the Avon softball team took the crown.
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Bulldogs bite Orioles
AVON — The contest between the Avon and Brownsburg baseball teams would have ended as a 1-0 advantage for the Bulldogs had the second and third innings not gotten away from the Orioles. Brownsburg caught fire in those two innings of Thursday’s sectional game and won convincingly, 7-1.
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Patriots eliminate Quakers
PLAINFIELD — Baseball legend Willie Keeler once said the secret of hitting was to “hit ‘em where they ain’t.” Unfortunately for the Plainfield Quakers baseball team, too many of their key at bats went to Terre Haute North fielders as the Patriots won a 5-1 decision over the host Quakers in the opening game of Class 4A Sectional 12 on Wednesday.
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Bulldogs wake up in sixth inning, pull off comeback win
INDIANAPOLIS— For five innings, it looked like Brownsburg’s postseason run would end the same night it begun.
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Cadets blow by Bulldogs, 9-0
CLAYTON — Following a 9-1 win over Cloverdale on Monday night, the Cascade softball team returned to the field for second round play against Monrovia on Tuesday in the 2012 2A Sectional No. 44 semifinal.
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Avon's doubles team advances
INDIANAPOLIS — Avon’s top doubles girls’ tennis team could have lost concentration after an early advantage.
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Bruins win late to advance in sectional, 3-2
BEECH GROVE - With three hits through five innings, the Tri-West softball team needed some offense and the bottom of its lineup came through.
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Bulldogs fall in sectional final
BROWNSBURG — Heading into the sectional final last Saturday, the Brownsburg girls’ tennis team sought its 10th sectional championship. After four matches had finished, it was knotted up at 2-2 with the No. 2 singles match heading into the third and deciding set.
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