Basketball ~ Lady Eagles fall to Panthers

Wednesday, 21 December 2011 5:50

(Savannah Labenz shoots for two during the Lady Eagles’ game against Prairie Heights. Labenz had four points for Churubusco against the Panthers.) photo by hiatt

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by Don Hiatt

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The Churubusco Lady Eagles hosted the Prairie Heights Panthers Saturday night. The Panthers defeated the Eagles 55-20 to give Churubusco a 4-7 record overall and 2-3 in the NECC. “We panicked tonight and didn’t shoot the ball well,” said Coach Jamie Perlich.

Turnovers and missed shots plagued both teams until 5:14 when the Panthers made their first basket, a three-pointer. Busco’s Lacey Pulley would take the ball down the court and answer the Panthers with a three- pointer of her own. Prairie Heights would then take control of the game by going on a 13-0 run to put them up16-3 at the end of the quarter. “There were times where we broke the press just fine,” stated Coach Perlich. “Other times, we were like where did that come from?”

The Lady Eagles started the second quarter with a two point bucket from Savannah Labenz. The Panthers then answered with a basket of their own. Heather Monk would get the offensive rebound from a missed shot by Chandler Blake and put it in for two points. The Lady Eagles would again go cold and Prairie Heights scored six in a row before Blake scored two. Busco would not score again until 21 seconds left to go until the half when Jacey Keener made two free throws. Prairie Heights extended the lead to 31-11 at the half.

“Shooting, we couldn’t throw it in the hoop,” explained Coach Perlich. “It didn’t matter how big the hoop was, we weren’t getting it in there.”

Both the Lady Eagles and the Panthers started the third quarter with turnovers. The Panthers made the first bucket of the quarter putting three more points on the scoreboard. Blake would answer back with two points for the Lady Eagles. Prairie Heights would take control of the game and go on a 6-0 run until Busco’s Labenz made a bucket and Blake and Montana Martin would both go 1-2 from the line making it 40-17 Prairie Height at the end of the third quarter.

“Prairie Heights shot the ball well tonight and they are a good team,” said Coach Perlich. “We didn’t play the way I know we can.”

The Panthers went on an 11-0 run to open the fourth quarter. The Lady Eagles didn’t get on the scoreboard until 2:12 when Blake went 2-2 from the free-throw line. Katie Monk would then get the next points of the game going 1-2 from the line. The Panthers would end the game getting two more points from the free- throw line making the final score 55-20 Prairie Heights.

“We were settling for the outside shot instead of looking to attack and get it inside the zone,” explained Coach Perlich. “They did a good job against Heather. They had someone on her all the time and made it hard for us to get it in to her. That’s why we were settling for the outside shot that we weren’t hitting. Hopefully we can use this time (Christmas break) to get people heeled up and get some rest. That way we can start the second half of the season off on the right foot.”

The Lady Eagles aren’t back on the court until Friday, December 30 at Heritage.

by Don Hiatt

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“Shooting, we couldn’t throw it in the hoop,” explained Coach Perlich. “It didn’t matter how big the hoop was, we weren’t getting it in there.”

“Prairie Heights shot the ball well tonight and they are a good team,” said Coach Perlich. “We didn’t play the way I know we can.”

The Lady Eagles aren’t back on the court until Friday, December 30 at Heritage.