ST. LOUIS, MO - The 2021-22 Principia Panthers are not settling with playing like a 1 win team. They continue to battle each and every night. The obstacles that they have had to face as a group has been a struggle, but they continue to find the resilience to overcome and to succeed each day.
The Panther women played at Fontbonne on Tueday night and came out firing to take a six point lead to start off the game. Fontbonne turned around their slow start and ended the first quarter leading Principia by seven. The Panthers got into foul trouble in the second quarter as they searched the bench for defensive stop combinations to put on the floor. Unable to find the right mix, Principia fell down 22 at half.
The Panthers needed a spark to start the second half, and they found it on the offensive end as they got into a shooting match. However, Fontbonne simply had too much of an advantage for the Panthers to play catch up. After a much improved second half of play, Principia ended up losing 95-67.
The Panthers were led tonight like they have been much of the season by their fresh faces. Paige Fowler finished with 18 points and 9 rebounds, while Carolina Rojas followed closely behind with 17 points of her own. Lydia Klutho had just 2 points but secured 10 rebounds on the night. Sophomores Aaliyah Scott (12 points, 5 rebounds) and Alana Hinson (11 points, 7 rebounds) rounded out the scoring column.
Coach Ro commented after the game: "The first quarter, we went out and got exactly what we were looking for on the defensive end. We got stops and then built on those with some easy scores. We need to continue to work on making the whole game more similar to the first part of the game. This year has been a season of growth. I have learned a lot about this group, and the one thing I know for a fact is that the young women in that locker room are not done getting better. They are not satisfied with the current outcome of the games, and they will continue to improve and play hard."
Up Next: The Panthers will travel to Eureka College on Saturday to play the final game of their regular season at 1 pm, before facing top-seeded Webster in the SLIAC quarterfinals next Tuesday.
