FRANKLIN, IN - Principia Women's Basketball team continued their tour as the Road Warriors with a trip to Franklin College on Tuesday night to complete a 3 game stretch in just 6 days. The Panthers battled throughout the game but came up short at the end on a buzzer beater by the Grizzlies.
Principia continued their season-long struggle in the first quarter with a cold spell to start the game of 6:40 before finally getting on the board. Coach Dominguez commented, "We just have got to come out of the game with more intensity. We are waiting to see what the tempo of the game is going to be instead of setting it ourselves. We got open looks and just did not convert." The Panthers left the first quarter down 9, but they still felt they were in a good position considering the start they had.
The second quarter was a 4 point swing for the Panthers as they won the quarter and went into halftime only down 5 at 32-27. The third quarter was also controlled by Principia as they won the quarter again, this time by a margin of 6 points, and went into the final quarter up 1 at 43-42. "We really started to get the ball into the post, share the basketball overall and started to make Franklin guard our variety of attacks. When we share the basketball and are unselfish, we are a hard team to stop," said Coach Dominguez.
The final quarter was a battle of wills by both teams as there were several lead changes, and the Panthers had to fight back down 5 at one point. An Alana Hinson three pointer off a Paige Fowler screen helped start the comeback for the Panthers. Hinson led all scorers with 15 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists, followed by Aaliyah Scott with 10 points and 3 assists, and Paige Fowler with 9 points and 9 rebounds. After a Fowler split of 2 free throws in the final minute, the score was tied at 59 all. With 2.5 seconds on the clock, the Grizzlies of Franklin College inbounded at half court and got off a very contested look at the three that went in off the backboard for the win.
Coach Dominguez said, "We forced them to make a difficult shot on the move and they did it. It was a great shot, which is what it took to beat us tonight. I am so proud of the way that we played. Even in the first quarter, we played so hard. We just could not get shots to fall. These young ladies are giving their hearts on the defensive end every night. Our offense is evolving and is a constant work in process. We just couldn't be prouder of the daily effort that these ladies are putting in."
The Panthers continue to improve overall as a team with tonight's game having all 9 players who saw action scoring, 8 players gathering a rebound, 7 players getting a steal, and 4 players dishing out assists.
Sophomore Aaliyah Scott commented after the game, "We worked very hard tonight as a unit, and as long as we keep working and trusting the process, then we will be the ones who come out on top."
Up next: The Panthers continue their road campaign at Knox College on Saturday at 2 pm CST in Galesburg, IL.
