Panthers get back at IMS with 62-40 win

PACKWOOD ? IMS handed Pekin its first loss of the season back on Dec. 3, and the Panther weren?t shy about exacting their revenge Friday night.

Pekin (10-3, 9-3 SEISC north) broke a 14-14 tie early in the second quarter with a 24-8 run to close the period to get away from IMS (3-9, 3-9) by a final score of 62-40.

Fast break points were the main weapons for Pekin, which racked up 15 steals in the game and turned many into quick buckets ? especially in that second quarter.

?Once again, it was our defense that came through for points on turnovers,? said Pekin head coach Davis Eidahl. ?Our girls played a hard pressing defense, and we also cut down on our own turnovers.?

Jessi Martin and Kaitlin Spilman each had five of those steals and both also put up 18 on the scoreboard. Martin hit from downtown to make the score 25-16, and Spilman handled things on her own with a steal and fast break bucket to put her team ahead by double digits with 2:40 left in the first half.

?We didn?t get back on defense when we needed to, and that?s what hurt us,? said IMS head coach Chris Nachtigall. ?They got in a half-court trap, which took us a few times to figure out and put us in a little hole. It?s tough to come from a big deficit in the first half on some else?s home court.?

Laura Hochstetter led IMS with 14 points, and Carly Unruh scored 11 to go along with eight rebounds.

Brandy Millikin added 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Panthers, which extended their lead another 10 points in the third quarter.

Next up for Pekin is another home game Tuesday vs. Winfield-Mount Union.