John Bruce, Staff Writer
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
CHILLICOTHE — All coaches like to say they believe in every player on their roster. But not many get to put that belief on display like Southeastern coach Doug Hice was able to do on Wednesday.
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
Despite foul trouble for one of the Southeastern’s big scorers in the third quarter, the Panthers (5-5) got big minutes from Katy Pinkerton and Ally Fisher to extend their lead and ultimately cruise to a 62-46 victory over New Boston Tigers.
Glenwood entered Wednesday’s contest as winners of six of their first eight contests, led by Cadence Williams and her 21.3 points per game. The Panthers put Gabby Pernell on Williams to hound her and try to slow her down on the offensive end.
This strategy worked, however, Williams’ senior classmate Dylan O’Rourke took advantage of lesser attention, scoring on multiple drives.
Meanwhile, the Panthers shot 3-for-20 in the opening quarter. Braylee Rebman scored on the first play of the game and Reese Ruckel scored on the final play of the quarter.
In between those baskets, only a triple from Pernell fell in the team’s other attempts.
Yet, thanks to sterling defensive efforts from Pernell, Grace Wireman and Reagan Ruby, the Panthers only trailed 8-7 after one quarter.
The Tigers (6-3) started the second quarter on a hot streak with O’Rourke and Williams combining for a 7-2 run within the first two minutes, extending the team’s lead to 15-9 and forcing a timeout.
At that point, Hice was able to call on one of his weapons off of the bench.
Morgan Ware, typically a starter, entered the game after missing some time due to illness and immediately made an impact. The lengthy junior found Ruckel inside for a layup before driving for a layup of her own to tie the game at 17. On the ensuing possession, Ware picked off a pass that led to a layup and the first lead for the Panthers since the opening possession.
“It was definitely different coming off the bench, but I knew that I had to bring the energy,” Ware said. “That was the main focus, to bring the energy to the floor. I wanted to play so I knew that was what I had to do.”
Southeastern extended its lead to 22-17 before a three-point play from O’Rourke brought the Tigers back into the game at 22-20 at the break.
In the first half, the Tigers did not attempt a 3-pointer, but that changed early in the third when Cassie Williams and Brooklyn Boyer connected from deep on back-to-back possessions. The Panthers responded on both of those possessions, once with a layup from Ruckel and then with a 3-ball from Pernell.
Southeastern then faced its first piece of adversity on the night as Pernell picked up two quick fouls to give her four and force her to the bench with 5:03 left in the third, with SE holding a two-point lead.
With the game tied at 31-31, it appeared that things went from bad to worse for the Panthers as Ruckel also went to the bench with her third foul of the night at the 2:34 mark in the third.
“We have to work on our help defense moving forward. I think sometimes we stay too close to our player,” Pernell said. “I definitely need to work on staying out of foul trouble. It’s been a bad habit for the past couple of games, but there’s some small things we have to continue working on.”
However, the Panthers closed the quarter with a 13-4 run as Fisher gave her team a one-point lead following a free throw. On the following possession, Wireman found Pinkerton on the right wing where the junior buried her first shot of the night.
One possession later, Ware connected with Pinkerton in the exact same spot for another 3 and the game started to go in favor of the blue and white.
Ware and Wireman each scored again to push the Panthers’ lead to 44-35 after three.
“That spurt to end the third brought so much energy to the team, we’re all on the bench just jumping up and going crazy,” Pernell said. “Who knows what would have happened without that run, but it gave us such confidence to be able to close out.”
The fourth quarter belonged to Pernell and Ruckel as they helped the Panthers salt away a win with their ball-handling and work on the glass, respectively.
Ruckel turned in a career night when her team needed it the most, piling on a career-high 16 points alongside nine rebounds.
“I’ve never had 16 points in a game before, so that was pretty awesome,” Ruckel said. “But we have to do a better job communicating and maintaining our energy. We get down and have a bad habit of not battling back to give ourselves a chance, so we have to be better about that.”
Glenwood was led in scoring by O’Rourke with 19 points while Williams added 17. O’Rourke and Williams each pulled down nine rebounds.
Southeastern was led in scoring by Ruckel with 16 points, while Ware (14) and Pernell (12) also reached double-digit scoring figures. Ruckel pulled down nine rebounds while Ware handed out four assists. Pernell pilfered four steals to lead all players.
The Panthers are back in action on Dec. 28 at Coal Grove while the Tigers attempt to bounce back on Thursday, hosting East.
BOX SCORE
New Boston: 8-12-15-11 — 46
Southeastern: 7-15-22-18 — 62
New Boston: 13-39 FG, 17-30 FT, 3-5 3pt., 27 rebounds, 21 turnovers, 4 assists.
Southeastern: 23-66 FG, 12-23 FT, 4-16 3pt., 31 rebounds, 9 turnovers, 8 assists.
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