ST. MARY-OF-THE-WOODS, IN - The Principia Women's Basketball team had a rough outing against a tough St. Mary-of-the-Woods College team on Thursday night losing on the road 69-51. But the growth in just their second game of this season was quite impressive.
Alana Hinson led all Panthers with 14 points and 8 rebounds, followed by Paige Fowler with 12 points on 2 of 3 from deep, as well as Lydia Klutho with 9 points. While the offensive productivity was the tale of the whole game, the lockdown defense in the second half was the real story. Led by freshman Raina Bryant and sophomore Aaliyah Scott, the Panthers started to apply a lot of full court pressure which led to Scott's 5 steals and Hinson's 4 picks.
The bench was a key component as well with juniors Madi Leslie and Georgia Rather making huge contributions on the defensive end as well as freshmen Klutho and Carolina Rojas on the offensive end.
Head Coach Ramiro Dominguez commented: "I was very impressed with our intensity in the second half and our never give up attitude. This is our first week of actually having most of our team on the floor together for practices. We are starting to put things together as a group, and it is starting to show in the games. Being such a young team and having only played two games so far showcases some of our growing pains, but we are battling and getting better every day."
Up next: The Panthers have a tough stretch of games coming up with a quick turn around on Saturday at Rockford University, and then next Tuesday at Franklin College, before finishing the month on the 27th against Knox College.
