Pekin girls upset Sigourney on home court

In a battle of defense and speed, the Lady Panthers were able to control the Lady Savages and get a 49-33 win as a result on January 13.

In their second straight game ranked 17^th, there were high expectations for the Lady Savages when they went into Panther territory. Pekin had just come off a huge win the night prior, beating ranked Mediapolis, effectively avenging their only loss earlier in the season. Both teams started out sluggish in the first few minutes, as Pekin was able to make some plays due to fast-break opportunities, but not much else. Sigourney looked to establish their game in the post, while also driving towards the hoop. After one quarter, the score was 9-4, advantage Pekin.

"Mediapolis and Sigourney are similar in personnel as far as their shooters and inside game," Lady Panthers coach Davis Eidahl said. "The game plan was to eliminate Sigourney's outside shooters from getting shots."

Pekin was able to extend their lead with an equally productive second quarter, but faced some early foul problems as Haley and Maci Gambell each picked up their third fouls. The games physicality level increased as the quarter drew on, with key plays and fouls from each team. The high-octane Sigourney offense was held in check for the most part, mostly due to the speed and agility of the Pekin defense. The Lady Panthers went into the half with a 21-10 lead, along with much applause from the home fans.

The big difference in the second half was the size advantage that Faith Oostra had in the post for Pekin. They had worked the ball down to her earlier in the game, and continued to exploit the taller forward throughout the night. Sigourney tried to stop the ball before it got into Oostra's hands, and once it did, it was almost an automatic bucket. The Lady Savages didn't back down though, knocking down some crucial threes and finding some open lanes to the basket. Pekin's lead had shrunk slightly, but it was still 35-26 heading into the final quarter.

"The big factor for us was the improvement of Faith," Eidahl said. "They didn't have a girl in front or behind her, so we were able to lob it up to her and let her score. If they wouldn't have collapsed on her more she could have then dished it out to Haley or Maci, so that was big for us."

More chippy play became a factor for Sigourney down the stretch, as Brooke Waechter and Autum Barthelman ended up fouling out. At that point, the lead was too great for the Lady Savages to overcome, and Pekin kept adding on point by point at the free throw line. Zoey Wright in particular found herself shooting multiple free throws in the closing minutes. Her ability to race past the equally quick Sigourney defense, combined with her shooting success, led to a big 49-33 win for the Lady Panthers on their home court.

Wright led all scorers as she accumulated a quiet 17 points, converting on 11 of 17 free throw attempts. She also had four assists, three rebounds and three steals. Oostra had a big game as well, ending up with 16 points, shooting eight of 10 from the field, five rebounds and three blocks. Haley had 10 rebounds, eight points, two assists and one steal. Maci had a rough night, finishing with six points and only taking four shots. Maci also had three rebounds, two steals and one block.

"This was a big win tonight, following up the win against Mediapolis," Eidahl said. "Just like L&M went down and upset Mediapolis, we don’t want that to happen to us. We're playing well and I just want to keep that up."

For Sigourney, Autum led the team with 16 points, but could have easily recorded more by converting on more attempts at the free throw line. Megan Stuhr had seven points, while Waechter finished up with six. Sloane Magill and Kaylee Weber had two points apiece to round out the Lady Savages score.

The Lady Panthers took to the road on January 16 to face Lone Tree, while Sigourney hosted Keota.