Box Score ELSAH, Ill. – Tonight the Principia College women's basketball team faced the Millikin University Big Blue in their first home game since before Christmas. With a slightly different roster coming into tonight's game, the Panthers had more than the holiday break rust to shake off, and it showed as they went down 10 points quickly to start the 1
st quarter. Hesitant offense and some miscues from the perimeter kept Principia off-balance offensively, with their first points finally coming from the free throw line. Sluggish team defense didn't help the matter, but fortunately the Panthers picked up the intensity on defense about half way through the quarter. While the disjointed offense continued into the 2
nd quarter, Principia did what they could to find a defensive rhythm, led in large part by senior captain
Kara Johnson and freshman center
Sophia Hathaway. But despite getting some much needed stops on defense, the Panthers could not find the bottom of the net, and headed into the locker room at half time with just 15 points, down 33-15.
The 3
rd quarter showed a bit of offensive spark for Principia, with the Panthers scoring on their first three positions. This culminated in a four-point play from sophomore shooting guard
Alexandra Weitman (she had a season high 8 points for the game) but fatigue started to kick in and the Panthers allowed Millikin to score 23 points in the quarter. The fourth quarter was a similar story to the rest of the game, although the Panthers had a few glimmers on offense from Hathaway and sophomore point guard
Tanya Marquardt who was playing in her collegiate debut. At the final buzzer, the Panthers had logged a 59-39 loss to the Big Blue. Notable statistical contributions include Johnson with 14 points, and Hathaway who had a game high 12 rebounds.
Despite the outcome, the game represented a good opportunity for the Panthers to get back into a team flow before starting back with their conference season. Principia will be at Iowa Wesleyan College this coming Saturday, January 2
nd to continue their conference schedule. Game time is scheduled for 1:00 pm.
