(Sentinel photo by Roy Tucker) K-P's Kelsey Krieg balances on one foot as she looks for a shot against Woodbury Central Tuesday night in the Lady Panthers' season opener. [Click to enlarge]

Kingsley-Pierson hosted a tough Woodbury Central team in the season opener Tuesday night. The 15th-ranked Wildcats wanted a win after dropping their opener and they got just that as the Lady Panthers fell 60-44.

"We played hard and did good things," K-P coach Nicole Goodwin said.

"We just are obviously not in game shape yet."

Coming off a successful fall campaign which included a trip to state volleyball, the K-P girls fell behind early practice-wise with a week late start.

But Goodwin said her squad came out strong in the opening minutes of Tuesday's game.

"We started strong, breaking their press," she said. "Our legs just got tired."

"We will get in game shape eventually. I'm very proud of what I saw. This was the best first game that these girls have had since they've been freshmen, so I was very happy with that."

In the non-conference match-up, K-P was led by Briana Schaeuble. The 6-1 senior started the season off right with a double-double, netting 18 points and 10 rebounds.

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Amanda Dirksen and Kelsey Krieg narrowly missed double digits as they each recorded nine points. Dirksen and Krieg also added four rebounds apiece while Krieg dished out four assists.

Ashley Ruba pulled down eight rebounds and Jenn Henrich grabbed four boards.

The Wildcats were led by two scorers in double figures. Bethany Sailor totaled 20 points while Jordan Grell added 12 in the win. Woodbury Central won the battle of the boards, 39-33.

K-P totaled 20 turnovers in the loss.

"Our goal was to keep [turnovers] lower than 24 so we met that goal," Goodwin said. "We did get out-rebounded a little bit, but we took great shots."

"Kelsey Krieg did a great job taking control of the game both offensively and defensively. She did a good job handling their press and stepping up as our point guard."

Goodwin added that all five of her starters did a great job stepping up and taking control on the court. "We just got tired," she said.

"I definitely saw good things. I was disappointed with the loss and the girls are too, but I'm proud of how they played their first game."

K-P will get another chance to best Woodbury Central as the rival squads face off on January 6 in the Western Valley Conference counter.

The Lady Panthers (0-1) are back in action Thursday night as they host Remsen St. Mary's. The Hawks are 0-2 on the season after losing games at Battle Creek-Ida Grove and Hinton on Monday and Tuesday evenings, respectively.