GHV girls fall to ranked Osage team

The Garner-Hayfield-Ventura girls basketball team hit a buzz saw when they faced number seven rated Class 3A Osage on Tuesday, Nov. 24.  An outstanding second half helped the Green Devils pick up a 62-27 victory over the Cardinals.

Both teams came out flat, with GHV scoring the first point three minutes into the game.  Osage picked it up from there and rolled to a 16-4 first quarter lead.  The Green Devils knocked down four first half three-point shots.  The Cardinals hadn’t lost their fight yet, as they collected 13 points behind Hannah Lau’s seven points and Jade Hanson’s four points to close the half trailing, 31-17.

“We were able to find a flow offensively midway through the second quarter and we went into the locker room with some confidence and still being in the game,” said Coach Matt Erpelding.

The Green Devils exploded in the second half, holding the Cardinals to just 10 points, while they scored 31 points.  Poor execution passing the ball allowed Osage to go on a 10-point run, which blew the game open for the 62-27 Green Devil victory.

“As several girls gain some experience playing at the varsity level we will see better execution on both ends of the floor,” said Erpelding.  “As we get more comfortable in our offense we should get more quality shots and also be able to cut down on turnovers.”

GHV committed 28 turnovers and only shot 26 percent from the floor.

Lau and Jillian Heitland led the team with nine and seven points respectively.  Hanson scored five points, while Mara Anderson and Mikaya Shropshire each had a bucket and Payton Bamrick and Mal

lory Johnson each connected on one free throw.  Lau and Heitland had one three-point shot apiece.

Bamrick and Lau each had seven rebounds, while Shropshire, Taryn Carolus and Jackson each grabbed three rebounds.

Lau had two steals and two blocked shots.  Carolus also had two steals, while Anderson and Jackson had one steal apiece.  Anderson had two blocked shots and Jackson had one blocked shot.

The team hosts Forest City on Friday, Dec. 4.  Game time is 6:15 p.m.