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Pekin takes down W-MU in opener
Panthers explosive first half sets tone in win over Wolves
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PACKWOOD - Pekin girls basketball had no trouble replicating its home result against Winfield-Mt. Union from a year ago.
The Panthers pulled out a 31-point victory over their Southeast Iowa Super Conference North rival in the Pekin High School gym last season. It was a similar story Tuesday night as the Panthers rolled 53-28.
“We had some scrimmages, and they kind of played fast and tried to do things too quick, and I think tonight everything slowed down for them,” first-year Pekin coach Neil Hartz said. “They made the right passes, ran our stuff right, played hard because the way we play we’re going to go up and down, we’re going to get stops. So it’s all hands on deck. So I’m really proud of the progress we made.”
Pekin didn’t let its foot off the gas after a 13-0 start ballooned into a 29-7 halftime lead. Hartz’s message in the locker room instructed his side to put the game away in the first four minutes of the third quarter.
The Panthers started the third on a 10-2 run. Pekin later responded to a 6-0 W-MU sequence at the end of the quarter with a buzzer-beating floater by Carlie Gambell.
Abby Guise led the way for Pekin with 16 points, all from inside the arc. 5-foot-10 forward Anna Hadley commanded the paint and finished with 12 points.
“With me and Abby down in the (paint) we’re absolutely dominant,” Hadley said. “If I’m not making the basket, she is, and we used that to our advantage for this game definitely.”
Sophomore Taylor Moore added six points for the Panthers. Junior Maddy Petrehn chipped in five. Gambell and Mya Glick each had four points. Ezra Parsons and Addison Smith scored three apiece.
The Panthers generated easy offense with full and half court presses. Trap-heavy man-to-man defense also frustrated the Wolves, and showed off a new identity Hartz is trying to establish in his first season at the helm.
“My favorite thing he’s done for our team is we press now,” Hadley said. “Last year we didn’t press at all and I think that’s helped us a lot. We (forced) a lot of turnovers. We made Winfield-Mt. Union stress about it because they’ve never seen us do it before.”
Pekin’s defense also did a solid job limiting W-MU’s Madisen Kellogg. The senior managed to lead all scorers with 17 points, but was well off her outstanding 39-point game against New London on Nov. 21, and was unable to drag the Wolves back into the game.
“Our main goal was, don’t let her get hot, because if she gets hot you’re in trouble,” Hartz said. “I told her after the game, ‘You are a heck of player.’ She’s going to score a lot of points against a lot of teams. But we took her away, which was the game plan. The girls did a great job, but she’ll probably be ready for us when we play them again.”
Suttyn Schlee was second on the Wolves in scoring with five points. Shaye Nelson, Katie Miller and Josslyn Roen scored two each.
Pekin (1-0) will try to carry its Game 1 momentum on the road after Thanksgiving break. The Panthers next face Wapello at 6 p.m. Dec. 2. at Wapello High School.
Winfield-Mt. Union (1-1) will look to bounce back at home against Louisa-Muscatine. The Wolves and Falcons will faceoff at 6 p.m. Dec. 2 at Winfield-Mt. Union High School.
