Box Score Elsah, Ill. - This afternoon the Principia College women's basketball team faced conference opponent Iowa Wesleyan College in their second match-up of the season. Off to a strong, energetic start, the Lady Panthers played some of the best basketball of the season so far, getting so crucial stops on defense and converting on solid offensive possesions at the other end. The Panthers won the rebounding battle in the 1st half, and shot a season high 50% from beyond the 3 point line, with freshman guard
Spencer Randolph and junior guard
McKinzie Wilgus both hitting 2 crucial threes to keep Principia within striking distance. A few untimely turnovers and some brief mental lapses on defense allowed Iowa Wesleyan to take a slight lead, and the Lady Panthers went into the break down seven points, 33-26.
The 2nd half was again filled with some great basketball by the PC squad, as the Panthers continued to probe the Wesleyan zone defense looking for offensive opportunities. Junior captain
Karina Olsen had some nice moves inside for easy buckets, and the solid shooting effort continued for Randolph. A bit of foul trouble and a quick scoring run by Iowa however had the Panthers in a 16 point hole before they regrouped and cut it back to 10 in the final minutes. Resorting to the foul game in an attempt to slow down the clock, the Panthers sent Iowa to the charity stripe where the Tigers were able to convert (they made 14 of their 19 free throw attempts compared to the Panthers 8 attempts). Although the final score had Principia losing 43-57, the game was still yet another example of the continued progress that this Panther squad is making. Notable statisical efforts include Randolph who had a game high 12 points on 50% shooting from the field, as well as 2 assists and 2 steals. Olsen had 12 points as well to go along with her game high 8 boards and 3 blocks.
The Panthers play next on the road at St. Louis College of Pharmacy on Tuesday, February 11th. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 pm.
