CROTHERSVILLE
On a historic night for the community, Crothersville’s girls basketball team wasn’t leaving its home court with a loss.
Following the unveiling of the school’s first-ever sectional championship banner, the Tigers opened their 2017-18 season with a 57-52 win against Southwestern (Hanover).
Prior to the varsity-only contest, former Crothersville principal David Schill unveiled the scroll on the side of the gymnasium.
“It feels great to see (the banner),” Tigers coach Kevin Hensley said. “The girls are so proud. We had girls come back and see the banner drop. Hopefully we get to do it again next year.”
While a handful of players from last year’s team took to the floor, it was a new face that made the most noise Tuesday night.
Junior Tayler Brewer, a 6-foot transfer from Columbus East, scored 32 points in her debut representing the red and white.
The Tigers (1-0) jumped to a quick 9-4 in the opening four minutes, with all the points coming from Brewer.
The Rebels capitalized on a series of Tigers turnovers and responded with a 9-0 run.
After a basket from Maddie Riley stopped the Rebels’ streak with 45 seconds left, the Tigers trailed 13-11 at the end of eight minutes.
Despite going 4-for-11 from the free-throw line in the second quarter, the Rebels led 25-24 at the break.
A pair of 3-pointers by Piper Hensley and a trey from Isabell Lewis gave the Tigers a 22-21 lead with 1:26 left in the half.
After splitting two sets of free throws to retake the lead, Brewer got a basket in the post to put the Tigers back on top by one.
At the buzzer, the Rebels’ Bella Marcum hit a mid-range jumper to give Southwestern the advantage.
By the half the Tigers had 12 turnovers to the Rebels’ 11 giveaways.
Out of the break, the Tigers went on an 11-0 run, led by a pair of converted and-one opportunities by Brewer and a 3-pointer from Isabell Lewis.
The Rebels responded with a pair of 7-0 runs to cut the deficit to one.
At the buzzer, the Rebels’ Abby Ralston stole an inbounds pass and got the bucket to fall, but they trailed the Tigers 45-43 at the end of three quarters.
While the score stayed close, the Tigers were able to hold on to their lead the entirety of the fourth quarter.
In the final two minutes of play, up by three points, the Tigers managed three defensive stops.
Brewer sealed the win by hitting two free throws — on an intentional foul by the Rebels — with five seconds remaining.
Taylor Cole and Ralston each had 17 points for the Rebels. Outside of Brewer’s 32, Hensley scored 11 and Lewis had eight.
“I told (Brewer) that teams are going to key on her now,” coach Hensley said. “We’re going to need others to step up. We have a lot to work on. The season is a marathon, not a sprint.”
The Tigers outrebounded the Rebels 39-34. Brewer pulled down 13 and Bekah Cook and had eight.
Crothersville totaled 28 turnovers and Hanover had 22.
From the free-throw line, the Rebels shot 9-for-24.
Coach Hensley said that the team’s still getting into the groove of the season.
“I will be honest, (Monday) was the first day I had everyone in practice, he said. “We had fall break last week, and some went on vacation and the seniors went on their senior trip. We’ve been playing six to eight girls for almost two weeks now. That hurts, you don’t have that time together to work on ourselves.”
The game also marked the opener for the Henryville Tip-Off Tournament. The Tigers will go to Austin on Thursday to resume tournament play.
The Tigers hope to build on last season’s successes as the season unfolds.They have three seniors on the roster and lost three from last year’s championship team.
“I want us to be competitive every night,” coach Hensley said. “I never want us to give up in any game. I think this team has a lot of talent and grit; they will push each other to get better. Everyone will need to step up. Our expectation is to be similar to last season. We want to get as many wins as we can.”