Pekin shoots its way through Van Buren

PACKWOOD ? The free throw shooting woes that have plagued Van Buren all season reared their ugly head again Thursday night at Pekin.

In a game that featured 49 fouls, the Warriors (6-5) made good on just 10 of 29 attempts from the line while Pekin (11-2) connected on five three-pointers ? three coming from the hand of Jesse Martin ? to coast in with a 55-40 victory.

The Panthers made Van Buren pay for their 28 fouls by sinking 20-31 from the charity stripe and also cranked up the defensive pressure. Pekin?s half-court trap turned into a full-court press in the second half and ended up getting the best of Van Buren second-leading scorer Makenzie Zeitler. The sophomore, coming off two straight 20-point games, was held to just three points for the game.

?It was excellent team defense, and when we can press like that, it opens up our offense,? said Pekin head coach Davis Eidahl.

Martin?s touch from behind the arc got the Pekin offense rolling in the first quarter with two treys and one more from Jessica Deutsch. Martin and Deutsch each hit another in the second quarter and led the Panthers into the halftime locker room with a 30-19 lead.

Pekin stretched its lead to as many as 14 in the second quarter before Van Buren finally made their push. Kassie Myers? buzzer beater to end the period was followed up by consecutive buckets by Jessica Saunders and the game?s leading scorer Dakota Zeitler to pull Van Buren within six points at 39-33 with seven minutes remaining.

Zeitler finished the game with an 18-point, 11-rebound double-double.

However, Deutsch was there for Pekin. The senior hit a deep jumper and made a pair from the free throw line on successive trips down the court to push Pekin?s lead back to 10. Kaitlin Spilman all but sealed it with an old-fashioned three-point play to put the Panthers ahead 48-34 with just under five minutes left.

?This is the second game in a row we?ve started fast, but I give the girls credit with how they responded when the lead was cut to six,? Eidahl said. ?Van Buren is well-coached and a tough team to play.?

Deutsch finished 17 points and two steals to lead Pekin. Jessi Martin added 13 points and three assists while Spilman added six points and five rebounds. Shelby Blakely and Jaime Sterling each netted five.

Jessica Saunders chipped in nine points and Myers scored eight for Van Buren.

Pekin will take put its 10-1 SEISC north division mark on the line tonight at home vs. Wapello ? a team they bested 45-34 Dec. 4. Van Buren will face a tough match up on the road against SEISC south division leading Harmony.