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Parkway's Brittyn Bruns (3) tries to deflect the ball away from St. Marys's Sophia Menker.
ROCKFORD - An extended break didn't seem to slow Parkway down.
Over a week after their season opener, the Panthers kept their undefeated season intact with a 42-33 win over St. Marys in a MAC vs. WBL matchup on Tuesday at Panther Gymnasium.
"It's been nine days since we played, so to come out and beat a quality team like St. Marys, it feels really good," Parkway coach Dan Williamson said.
After forcing a turnover on the opening possession, Parkway (2-0) opened the scoring with a Cami Langenkamp floater. She later added one more for the Panthers with a free throw to give them a 3-0 lead.
Two St. Marys (2-1) turnovers later, Madelyn Stover connected from deep to make it a 6-0 start for Parkway. The Riders could not get through the Parkway defense, but a put-back layup by Claire Turner eventually put them on the board at 6-2. Logan Henschen followed that up with a three to cut the deficit to 6-5, but an Abby Williamson shot at the buzzer made it 8-5 Parkway at the end of the quarter.
St. Marys used a half-court pace in the opening frame, and was able to limit the Parkway possessions. The Panthers only put up 10 shots in the quarter, while St. Marys was at six attempts.
Parkway's Megan Hughes (32) goes up for a shot as St. Marys' Audrey Reineke reaches out during Tuesday's matchup at Panther Gymnasium in Rockford.
The offenses picked it up in the second quarter. Meghan Hughes got it going with a post-hook shot to push the Panthers into double-figures. Lauren Jacobs responded for the Riders with a three, which was answered by Hughes to set the score at 13-8 Parkway. Hughes finished with a team-high 10 points and added seven rebounds.
"She's a really smart player," coach Williamson said. "She can do anything we need her to do. She's a luxury to have as a coach."
A quick five-point run by St. Marys forced a Panther timeout with the score at 13-all. Sophia Menker got on the scoresheet with a layup, which was followed by a Jacobs three to tie it.
The post-timeout play could not have been worse for the Panthers as they turned it over immediately. Audrey Reineke made them pay with a three, and all of a sudden St. Marys held the lead 16-13. Langenkamp cut it to one with three-minutes left in the half and Parkway got the ball back after a jump ball was called after a battle for a rebound.
Looking for a lead, Hadley Stover connected on a three to make it 18-16 Parkway, but Kaya Fulmer quickly put the Riders back on top with a three of her own. After both teams missed, it was Stover again who banked in a three from the corner at the buzzer. As the teams ran into the locker rooms, Parkway held a 21-19 edge.
St. Marys' Lauren Jacobs (10) gets past Parkway's Madelyn Stover.
St. Marys won the quarter 14-13, but the late three killed the momentum. Jacobs led the team with six points from deep as the Riders looked for efficiency in their few shots. Parkway was using their defense to try and speed the game up, and forced seven turnovers to try and run.
After giving Parkway a 23-21 lead early in the third, Colbie Smith used another layup to make it a two-score lead at 25-21. A corner three from Reineke quieted the crowd a bit, but Williamson hit a three later to make it 28-24.
Reineke made another shot just inside the line and after a miss by the Panthers, it gave the Riders another chance to tie or take the lead. They could not do it, as both teams forced turnovers and a last second heave missed. Parkway led by two going into the fourth, 28-26.
The trend continued in the fourth. Parkway missed two shots, and St. Marys had two turnovers in the early stages. Brittyn Bruns got a steal and smartly passed it to Hughes for an easy transition layup as the Panthers led by four with 4:30 left in the quarter.
Bruns got rewarded for the pass later and nailed a three from the elbow to give Parkway a 33-26 advantage. Reineke took advantage of a zone defense and responded with another three, her third make from deep. St. Marys called a timeout to set up a defense down 33-29 with 3:33 on the clock.
The defense did not work, as Langenkamp got two more points and a 35-29 lead with 2:30 left in the contest. After a Rider miss, Parkway missed an open three that would have sealed it there.
Needing a stand on defense, the Panthers got it as the Riders could not get a shot to drop and were forced to foul with just over one minute left. Hughes made one to push the score to 36-29.
Davis made a much-needed shot for St. Marys to cut the deficit to five, but Madelyn Stover made both free throws the other way to push it back to 38-31, with 30 seconds left.
St. Marys committed another turnover, its 12th of the game, and after the teams traded free throws, Parkway went home happy with the nine-point win.
The big indicator in the game was the turnovers. While St. Marys slowed down a little bit in the second half, they were still over double-figures. Parkway kept its turnover number down with just seven, and were able to capitalize on the Riders' mistakes late.
"We rushed ourselves tonight," St. Marys coach Scott Jordan said postgame. "We did not take care of the ball well enough to win."
All five Parkway starters scored in the effort, with seven of the nine players who came in contributing points.
"We got tons of contributions from a lot of girls tonight. The win feels good, but to get a lot of people involved was really good," coach Williamson said.
Parkway heads to Upper Scioto Valley next for a Saturday morning game, while St. Marys will look to respond against Elida at home Thursday night in the Western Buckeye League lidlifter for both teams.
