GBB: Crawfordsville wins early season battle of ranked squads

But despite illness, nerves and a lack of comfort with the new scheme, the Athenians keep finding ways to win.

Senior
Alex Gasaway and junior Courtney Hamilton each scored 10 points apiece,
as the visiting Class 3A No. 7 Athenians pulled out a 41-33 victory
over Class A No. 9 Turkey Run.

Ninth-year Crawfordsville coach
Darren Haas acknowledged players still aren't comfortable with the
whole plan yet. But in the fourth quarter, they started to show a few
flashes of what they can do once they follow the plan.

"We were
out of position so much . . . We're still trying to put people in
places. Maybe it's my fault," Haas said. "We've got to get the ball
inside. It's similar to [our problems] last year. We have a new offense
out there and in two games we haven't shown our fans what it is."

By getting back to its inside game in the fourth quarter, Crawfordsville (2-0) held on to pull this win out.

They
went inside to their big three - Gasaway (5-feet, 10-inches), Hamilton
(5-11) and senior Betty Elliott (6-1) - and tried to get at least one
of them to touch the ball on every play.

With Turkey Run junior center Adrienne Francis (6-0) out with a boxer's fracture, the Athenians took advantage down low.

Elliott
only scored five points the entire game. But it was her hustle on the
boards and passing skills that really gave the Athenians a boost.

After
letting an eight-point lead slip away and tied at 27-27 after three
quarters, Crawfordsville opened the first three minutes of the fourth
quarter on an 8-0 run.

Senior Haley Grundy scored the first two
baskets, while Hamilton scored the final two. Elliott had a hand in two
of the baskets, with an assist on the first one (to Grundy) and the
last one (to Hamilton).

She also pulled down a rebound and tipped away a pass for a steal during the run.

Crawfordsville
took a 35-27 lead with less than five minutes remaining and Gasaway
sealed things up with two baskets in the final two minutes.

Gasaway
had missed most of the past week will a fever and Haas wasn't even sure
if she'd play. She didn't start but managed to go 5-of-11 from the
field.

Although Hamilton played well offensively, Haas said he
was disappointed with her defense. With her long arms, he'd hoped she'd
finish with a couple more steals. But he said she looked lost Tuesday
night.

"This was the first day [Alex] didn't have a fever," Haas
said. "We need to get comfortable back in our offense. Courtney and
Alex are not comfortable yet."

Meanwhile, a banged-up Turkey Run (1-3) team struggled with free-throw shooting and lack of legs in the fourth quarter.

The
Warriors made just 4 of 15 free-throw attempts (26.7 percent) and went
just 12 of 45 from the field (26.7 percent) in the game.

Junior Chelsea Newnum led Turkey Run with 10 points. Junior Jordan Hunt came off the bench to score nine.