Pekin girls? quick start stops Comets

PACKWOOD ? Another fast start from the Pekin girls? basketball team was all the advantage the Panthers needed, and they turned a 17-5 lead into a 66-55 victory over Cardinal Thursday.

The Comets (2-4, 2-2 SEISC south), riding a two-game winning streak going into Thursday, failed to get anything going offensively to start the game and were outscored 35-19 going into halftime. The Panthers (5-0, 4-0 SEISC north), on the other hand, had no trouble scoring from the tip-off and were led by Emily Ellis? 24 points on 9-of-16 shooting, 6-of-10 from beyond the arc.

The Comets scored 36 points to Pekin?s 31 in the second half, but the damage from the cold-shooting first half proved too much to overcome.

On top of Ellis? 24 points, Paige Jensen scored 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting, Brandy Millikin had nine points, and Cheyann Lankford and Leslie Stone each added eight points. Lankford also dished out four assists.

But according to Pekin head coach Davis Eidahl, it wasn?t the offensive production that helped them out the most but their defensive rebounding.

?We got real good rebounding and that led to the fast break,? said Eidahl. ?We played hard again and normally we don?t have the height to match up to our opponents, but Cardinal didn?t have that.?

The Panthers trio of Jessica Horras, Stone and Jensen combined for 28 boards. Horras grabbed 10, and Stone and Jensen each came down with nine rebounds apiece.

For the Comets, junior Lindsay Moore continued her strong offensive season with another game-high 27 points, including 8-of-10 shooting from the charity stripe. Brooke Courtney scored 10 points, while Liz Nichols and Laci Moore had seven points each. Abby Rupe added four points.

Pekin will be on the road tonight to face Louisa-Muscatine, and Cardinal will be at Burlington-Notre Dame.

PEKIN ? Ellis 24, Jensen 15, Millikin 9, Lankford 8, Stone 8, Wright 2, Totals 66

3-point goals ? Ellis 6. Rebounds ? Millikin 10, Stone 9, Jensen 9, Cooley 4, Ellis 4. Assists ? Lankford 4, Millikin 2, Stone 2, Ellis 2. Blocks ? Horras 2, Lankford 2, Stone 2. Steals ? Ellis 2, Wright 2, Lankford 2, Horras 1

CARDINAL ? Lindsay Moore 27, Courtney 10, Nichols 7, Laci Moore 7, Rupe 4, Totals 55

3-point goals ? 4