Early scoring woes hurt K-P in WVC loss

A slow start turned into a rough finish Tuesday as the Kingsley-Pierson girls dropped a 51-35 decision on the road at Odebolt-Arthur.

"We started out slow that first half," K-P coach Nicole Goodwin said. "We dug ourselves such a hole, even though we battled back at the start of the fourth [quarter], we couldn't get any closer."

After the Trojans took an 18-7 lead in the opening quarter and a 29-15 halftime advantage, the Lady Panthers poured in 14 third quarter points to pull within seven, down 37-29 at the start of the final quarter.

With just two minutes to play in regulation, O-A held a 42-33 lead.

"But we had to foul and they made their free throws," Goodwin said. "We battled back, but we have to start out faster in that first half to really get going."

Goodwin was pleased with her squad's offense on the night as K-P was 16-for-35 from the field, a close match to O-A's 14-for-30 showing.

But free throws hurt the Lady Panthers again Tuesday, as they only got 11 chances at the line, while their hosts got to the charity stripe more than 30 times in the contest.

"Otherwise, it was pretty even throughout the game," Goodwin said.

Another key to the waning minutes was the loss of senior Amanda Dirksen early in the fourth quarter.

"Amanda fouled out right away in the fourth quarter," Goodwin said. "It hurts us because she is one of those defensive forces for us."

Dirksen dished out two assists, blocked two shots and grabbed a steal in the loss.

Briana Schaeuble led the Lady Panthers with 12 points. The senior also pulled down seven rebounds, blocked six shots and grabbed a steal.

Ashley Ruba pulled down seven rebounds as well while Kelsey Krieg grabbed three.

Krieg led the squad in assists with four. Dirksen, Ruba and Dani Sudbeck each had two assists.

Jenn Henrich had two steals and one blocked shot.

"[Odebolt-Arthur] does a good job and they are really disciplined," Goodwin said. "They execute their offense well. We only got five steals tonight."

"Odebolt also has a good history of being really solid in rebounding. They have a lot of patience and execute their offense really well."

The Lady Panthers were limited in their offensive chances Tuesday night as they only grabbed six offensive rebounds.

"That tells me [Odebolt is] doing little things like boxing out and keeping us off the boards," Goodwin said. "I applaud them for their effort."

Abbie Grote led all scorers with 18 points while Brittany Walsh and Christine Bloyer combined for 25 points for the Trojans.

K-P is back in action Thursday, playing host to Akron-Westfield in non-conference action.

The Lady Panthers (6-6, 4-4) return to Western Valley Conference action Friday as they host Remsen-Union.