DAYTON —Twin Valley South’s girls’ basketball team had its three-game winning streak snapped last week with a 53-27 loss at Dayton Dunbar on Tuesday, Dec. 19.
South fell behind early and never recovered.
The Panthers trailed 12-5 after the first quarter and 31-13 at halftime. Dunbar extended its lead to 42-18 after three quarters.
Seniors Mylan Crew and Kelsie Shafer led South with eight points each. Madison Johnson added six.
The Panthers dropped their second straight game on Thursday, when they fell 42-34 to visiting Stivers.
South fell behind 17-6 after the first quarter and trailed just 22-15 at halftime.
The Panthers appeared to regroup in the third quarter, outscoring Stivers 16-7 to take a 31-29, but managed just three points in the final eight minutes.
“The first quarter may have been our worst one this season. The second quarter we got our composure back and did a good job getting back in the game,” South Coach Brody Rike said. “The third quarter we looked liked the team that went 3-0 last week as we took the lead heading into the fourth quarter. Then in the fourth quarter we got in our heads mentally and let the size of our opponent play the biggest factor in the game.”
Being undersized is nothing new for the Panthers.
“We know going into every contest that we are the smaller team on the floor. When we are at our best we don’t let it make that much of an impact,” Rike said. “But when we are at our worst, not only do we see the size contrast on the rebounding end, but our girls start to struggle making simple shots because they are always in a hurry before size closes in on them.”
Rike said his team rushed several shots.
“Rushed shots cost us big time tonight as we went 13 for 41 with shots in the paint. Stivers’ 6-foot post player, Emily Fletcher, just proved to be too much for us tonight as she put up 12 points and kept us from scoring under the basket,” he said.
In the losing effort, the Panthers were led by Crews with 15 points and Shafer put up a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
South (5-5) is scheduled to play at Arcanum on Thursday, Dec. 28, in a Cross County Conference game and will host Milton-Union on Saturday, Dec. 30.
