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Panthers hang on against Trojans
Pekin girls basketball wins low-scoring affair over Fairfield
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
FAIRFIELD — Pekin girls basketball finished a clash against Fairfield with its lowest points total of the season. Scoring 27 points in 32 minutes sounds like a recipe for disaster, but for the Panthers on Thursday, it was proof they could win ugly.
Field goals were hard to come by for both teams. But despite finding a lid on the rim for large portions of the contest, Pekin did enough to hold on for a 27-20 victory over Fairfield.
“I also (told the team), ‘We know we’re better than what we showed tonight,’ and they all shook their heads and agreed,” Pekin coach Neil Hartz said. “So, that means they understand that even on our bad night we can win. That’s huge for us.”
Pekin shot just 22.2% from the field, failed to connect on a 3-pointer and went 25% from the free throw line. Fairfield’s defense forced 19 turnovers and held an opponent to under 30 points for the second time this season. The Trojans limited Mt. Pleasant and Van Buren County to 43 and 42 points, respectively, in their previous two games.
That made Pekin’s 14-3 run in the second period especially critical. The Panthers played far from their best game, but showed why they’ve won four of their last five, carving out a stretch of scoring while keeping Fairfield at bay with 12 steals on defense.
“The biggest thing, we took our time breaking the press,” Hartz said. “We got in a hurry early, and then once we slowed down we never really had a problem with it. The girls have come a long way. I don’t know if we’d be in that position in December when (teams) were pressing us.”
Most of Pekin’s scoring came through Abby Guise. The senior finished with 17 of the Panthers’ 27 points and logged a double-double with 11 rebounds, including six on the offensive end.
The Panthers made just 10 field goals, but got pivotal contributions from its entire lineup in multiple areas to maintain their lead. Anna Hadley scored just three points, but lead Pekin with 12 rebounds and chipped in three steals.
Carlie Gambell finished the game with five points, six rebounds and three steals. Pekin hunted any Fairfield mistakes, with six of the seven Panthers’ players who saw the floor recording a steal.
“We’re known for being good at defense obviously, and pushing the pressure,” Guise said. “I think it helps a lot that our coach is very big on that.”
Fairfield outscored Pekin 8-5 in the fourth, but struggled to take advantage of any clean looks it had earlier in the game. The Trojans couldn’t manufacture a run to match the Panthers second quarter.
“Our ball movement was OK, but we just weren’t attacking the gaps and we had to attack the basket a little bit better and we just weren’t doing that tonight,” Fairfield coach Brian Witzenburg said. “We were just too passive and we have to be more aggressive in looking to attack the basket a little bit more.”
Faith Jones made three made 3s to lead Fairfield with nine points. Elyse Setterstrom scored six.
In addition to the on-court action, the Fairfield and Pekin basketball programs also collaborated in an "Everyone vs Cancer” event, which raised money for the American Cancer Society. Players and coaches for the boys and girls teams wore pink warm-ups and gear. The Fairfield girls team dawned pink uniforms during its game.
The event included a soup supper before the games and a dessert silent auction. Fans participated in a duck toss at halftime of the boys game along with a 54-second fundraising drill before tipoff.
Community 1st Credit Union also presented a check for $500. All proceeds were donated to the American Cancer Society.
“It’s a great cause,” Hartz said. “A lot of schools are doing it now. So I hope it’s something that happens every year and keeps going and going.”
“The girls were excited to wear their pink uniforms,” Witzenburg said. “There’s all kinds of great stuff that happens with that and all kinds of money raised for a great cause.”
Here are the other recent Union area small school girls basketball results.
Jan. 15
Keota 64, Moulton-Udell 6
WACO 49, Louisa-Muscatine 38
Moravia 53, New London 12
Jan. 16
Highland 54, Columbus 30
Hillcrest Academy 43, Winfield-Mt. Union 40
No. 11 Tipton 46, No. 13 Mid-Prairie 44
English Valleys 52, Keota 48
Centerville 71, Cardinal 41
Burlington Notre Dame 59, New London 20
No. 10 Mediapolis 73, Van Buren County 22
Jan. 17
Davis County 42, Van Buren County 39
