GREENVILLE, IL – The Principia Women's Basketball team traveled to Greenville University on Saturday to take on their fellow Panthers in the SLIAC Game of the Week. Greenville has one of the best women's teams in the conference, and Principia was looking to prove they now belong in the conversation among SLIAC's best teams. Even though the game ended in a a seven point win for Greenville, it was actually a much closer affair as the lead went back-and-forth for much of the afternoon. It was a one point game with two minutes to go until Greenville pulled away for the victory. The Principia women played well and certainly proved they are a team to look out for this season.
The first quarter was all Principia as they came out firing on all cylinders on both ends of the floor to take a 17-8 lead. The second quarter was all Greenville as they fought back to get the score back within three at the break. The third quarter has been an obstacle for the Principia as Greenville started to hit some threes. However, with four minutes left in the quarter, Principia started to come back with big buckets by
Ariana Williams,
Carolina Rojas, and
Paige Fowler cut the deficit to just one towards the end of the third.
The fourth quarter was a boxing match as both teams exchanged blows with the lead changing hands four times. Each team showed a lot of guts as they found ways to keep battling back to retake a lost lead. Principia was led in the fourth by a group of Panthers in
Paige Fowler,
Taylor Brown,
Brin Hultz and
Deija Carter who all hit game altering shots at different times. In the final three minutes, Greenville found the magic through their senior leader Madelyn Stephen, who took over with a clutch layup and 3-pointer to secure the victory for the home team.
Paige Fowler led the team with 18 points and recorded her second double double of the season as she added 10 rebounds.
Deija Carter equaled Fowler with 10 rebounds of her own, a season-high for her. Newcomer
Brin Hultz added 11 points, while
Carolina Rojas finished with 10 points.
Coach Ro: "I say it every game, but these women on this team are amazing. Right now, we have seven healthy players, and you would never know that we do not have a whole bench full of extras with how hard we play every possession. In the first, we came out and played with a lot on intensity, and we just need to find ways to continue that momentum throughout the game. Give Greenville credit, they managed to get the last run in and beat us. They are an outstanding team, but I could not be prouder of our growth and our heart."
Up Next: Principia will play their first conference home game on Tuesday, January 10th at 5:30 pm against Westminster College.
