MP girls claim one-point win

CENTERVILLE ? The Mt. Pleasant girls? basketball team held off Centerville long enough for a 55-54 win on the road last night.

The Panthers were down by four at halftime, 29-25, before rallying to their biggest advantage of the game: a five-point, third-quarter lead. But they couldn?t hold on, and Centerville made a comeback to claim a 52-51 edge with two minutes left to play. From there, the Panthers took a 53-52 lead, and then went up 55-52. Centerville got another basket in to come within one. With only a couple seconds remaining, the Big Reds put the ball in the hands of their high-scorer. However, her last-second shot ? put up from well behind the arc ? bounced off the rim, and it was the Panthers who held the lead when the time ran out.

?It was a close game all the way through,? said Joanna Settles, Mt. Pleasant girls? basketball coach. ?They really had to shut down Taylor Shull, but Taryne Shull shot awesome in the first half.?

Taryne Shull scored 11 of her 13 points in the first two quarters of the game, despite sitting on the bench for half of the second quarter after getting into early foul trouble.

The Big Reds couldn?t stop both of the Shull sisters, so when the defense tightened around Taryne, it opened up Taylor, who finished the contest with 21 points. The Big Reds couldn?t put a stop to the Panthers? inside game, either: Kelsi Phipps came up with 15 points on the night. Phipps was also the team?s leading rebounder, grabbing nine boards. Taryne Shull pulled down seven.

Taylor Shull dished a team-high five assists and nabbed four steals for the Panthers in the win.

Centerville?s Olivia Starcevich led all scorers with 24 points in the game.

The Panthers take the court again on Friday when they host Keokuk, starting with the freshmen at 4:45 p.m.