Elsah, Ill. -- Tonight the Principia College women's basketball team faced the Lady Pomeroys of St. Mary of the Woods from Terre Haute, IN. The game was played at breakneck speeds from the start, St. Mary's upping the tempo with a full court press with which the Lady Panthers initially struggled. Back-to-back turnovers and couple rushed shots had the Principia down early. However, after just a few minutes of confusion, Principia found its bearings and the game had new life. Sparked in part by critical ball-handling from Sarah Corbitt and mon-star rebounding from sophomore forward Karina Olsen, Principia started closing the gap. Also leading the attack was sophomore captain Becca DeNicholas, show hit some crucial jumpers and some nice lay-ups to keep the Panthers in the game. The Panthers also forced St. Mary's to take off the full court pressure due to several buckets by Olsen and sophomore forward Jessica Bushong (Bushong had a sick and-one that gave Prin some momentum). Prin's efforts were stymied however with an abysmal showing from the free throw line (the Panthers shot just 9-22 from the charity stripe in the 1st half). But despite the missed free throws, the Panthers went into the locker room at halftime down just five, 35-40.
The 2nd half kicked off with a bit of a struggle, Principia turning the ball over three times to give St. Mary's a quick 6 points. Once again finding its rhythm though, the Panthers started to close the gap once again, aided in part by sophomore guard McKinzie Wilgus who hit her first three shots of the 2nd half (Wilgus ended with 8 total points going 4-9 from the field). The battle continued and due to a critical step-back three from senior forward Jocelyn Shoemake, the Panthers found themselves down just three. From there the Panthers surged forward, finally taking the lead with just a few minutes left in the half. Up one with 23 seconds left, Principia made their final defensive stand, but the Pomeroys hit a lay-up to regain the lead. In the 11 seconds remaining, Principia attempted one last play, but could not seal the victory. Just a few less turnovers (Prin ended with 32 total) or a few more made free throws (they shot 11-26 from the 1ine) could have written a different end to the story. But this game demonstrates vast improvement for this young Panther squad, and the game as a whole showed true effort from every single member.
Notable statistical contributions were DeNicholas who ended with a career high 17 points, shooting 63% from the field. Both Bushong and Shoemake contributed 9 boards. Senior captain Sarah Corbitt logged a game high 21 points, 7 boards and 6 assists. And lastly Olsen recorded 16 points and a career high 17 rebounds to finish the evening.
Principia plays their final game before the Christmas break in St. Louis against the Lady Saints of Maryville College. The game is scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 4th at 6 pm.
