Greenville vs Lebanon: 5 key takeaways

Greenville was able to win a scrappy semi final game with a late surge. The final score was 37-28. It was a hard fought defensive game just as that score indicates. Two baskets and a free throw late in the game sealed the victory.

• If you are playing Greenville you have to defend the paint. Megan Hallemann is a 6’4 junior that has to be a focus of your defensive plan. She needs to get stronger and finish more consistently, but most teams cannot combat that height. Megan struggled to finish most of the game, but when her team needed her she provided that 5 point run. There is a very high upside to Megan if she puts in the work to get stronger and quicker.
• As you would expect, Lebanon is missing the Bass twins. The team really struggled to score in this game. Greenville was able to hold Lebanon to 4 points in the second half and that was the difference. Katie Fertig and Alex Hearty each had 8 points in the first half. In the second half Emily and Abigail Reinneck each scored 1 basket. That was it for the second half. It is tough to penetrate the Greenville zone and so shots were hard to come by. I believe that the Reinneck twins will have to be the leaders on offense. I also think they need to find a way to create offense from their defense as they have done in the past.
• You have to defend the Greenville shooters. Ally Cantrill and Rylee Pickett can really hurt you from the outside. Many teams will be so focused on defending the paint that they will give up the outside shot. That strategy will haunt you. Pickett hit 6 3’s in the opening two games and Cantrill had 3. Pickett made 46% of her 3 pointers in those two games.
• Nancy Fritzsche led Greenville in scoring and rebounding last year. She scored 12 points and got 10 rebounds per game last year. When I saw her play in the summer Hallemann did not play and Fritzsche was dominant in the paint. The zone employed by Lebanon forced Fritzsche out on the perimeter for much of the game. Although she is capable of hitting the 3, she is not as effective on the perimeter. It looks like it will be a challenge for the Lady Comets to get both Hallemann and Fritzsche the post touches they need.
• Greenville looks poised to make a good run come tourney time. They certainly will have a tough road through regionals and sectionals. The Lady Comets return experienced players and can get scoring many different ways. They can get you inside and out so you have to pick your poison. They had 5 girls scoring at least 7 points per game with Natalie Iberg getting the 7 points per game. Natalie had 5 steals against Lebanon and played very good defense.

This was a hard fought defensive battle that ultimately went Greenville’s way in the end. Lebanon could not find a way to score in the second half. If both teams continue to play defense this way they will be a tough out come February.