The Greenwood girls basketball team won four games all of last season. It’s taken the Woodmen all of two weeks to match that total.
Leah Moore finished with 18 points, 12 rebounds and four steals, making several critical plays in the closing minutes as the host Woodmen pulled out a 48-44 victory against Indian Creek in the first round of the Johnson County Tournament.
“She really gutted through it,” Greenwood coach Bill Torgerson said of Moore. “She attacked the rim really hard and got some huge rebounds. We had a really difficult time on the boards the whole night, and she saved us for sure.”
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Click here to purchase photos from this galleryBoth sides had their chances to steal the win, but it was Greenwood (4-1) that had the last word.
A 3-pointer by Ashley Buster helped the Woodmen tie the game up at 42-all with three minutes remaining. Heather Maddox briefly put the Braves (2-3) back on top before Moore evened it up again at the 1:57 mark. Buster then created a loose ball that Alex Kincaid took the distance for the go-ahead layup, and Moore added another bucket and sealed the game with a late steal.
“We calmed down and really worked together and passed the ball, and we didn’t freak out,” Moore said of the closing flurry by the Woodmen.
Paced by nine points and eight rebounds from Moore, Greenwood led for most of the first half before Indian Creek staged a late rally and pulled ahead for the first time, 22-21, on a Celina McElroy layup just before the horn.
McElroy opened the second half with a pair of free throws, but Kincaid responded with back-to-back 3s to put the Woodmen back on top, 27-24. The home team maintained a slim edge for the rest of the third quarter, but Indian Creek pulled back ahead, 35-34, on a Makenzi Sizemore layup at the start of the fourth, setting up a back-and-forth finish.
Moore and Greenwood just managed to make a few more plays down the stretch.
“When we finally got the lead, we didn’t take care of it,” Indian Creek coach Brian Ferris said. “Credit to them — they came out and just outplayed us, outworked us, and we’ve got to get home and get back to the drawing board.”
Kincaid had 12 points for the Woodmen. Addie Rund led Indian Creek with 15 points, while McElroy added eight points and 15 boards.
