Eagles find scoring touch late to repel Panthers

The South Putnam Eagles girls’ basketball team rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit, making 11-of-12 foul shots in the fourth quarter, to stave off the upset bid from the Riverton Parke Panthers 56-50 in non-conference action.

The Panthers came in with only three wins on the season but did not play that way Tuesday night.

After a very slow start, Riverton Parke finished with a 7-0 run to end the quarter. The Eagles could not get shots to fall against their matchup zone. Nine first quarter turnovers also led to the slow start. All three points came from senior Brie Miller as they trailed 12-3 after one.

Scoring picked up from both sides in the second as the Eagle offense began to knock down some shots. They could get no closer than eight points as junior Bailey Duke was a rebounding machine for the Panthers, gathering 11 boards and also scoring 10 first half points.

South Putnam struggled from the foul stripe for most of the game, making only 5-of-11 shots in the first half, trailing the upstart Panthers by 10 at 29-19 as the teams went to the locker room.

Coming out after the half, South brought more intensity and pressure. The Eagles upped the tempo and created 10 Panther turnovers. At the 3:33 mark South would take its first lead of the game at 33-31. After trailing by as much as five, Riverton Parke did not go away, closing the quarter scoring six unanswered points to take a 39-36 lead to the final quarter.

Fouls started mounting up on both sides as neither team backed down. The Panthers kept the Eagles at bay until, with 1:16 left in the game, Miller knocked down a pair from the charity stripe to put the Eagles up for good.

Big foul shots from Hanna Teipen, Lilly Vittetow and Danae Cline in the final quarter, going 11-of-12 in that stretch, along with another Miller basket, finally put away the Panthers 56-50 to get the Eagles their ninth win of the season.

“We were not getting the movement we needed early. In the first half we just didn’t have energy. I think we did a lot better in the second half,” said Eagle head coach Brian Gardner.

The Eagles, through three quarters, were 10-of-24 from the foul line but closed out 11-of-12 to win the game.

“I think that’s another concentration thing. We were not doing that, then when the game got close we focused and were able to get a win,” added coach Gardner.

South Putnam will travel to Northview Friday night. Miller finished the game with 20 points and nine rebounds to lead the Eagles. Lilly Vittetow added 16 points of her own, while Hanna Teipen chipped in seven rebounds.

The Panthers were headed up by Duke who ended the evening with 20 points and 20 rebounds for an impressive double-double. Caeden Bennett was also in double figures with 12 points.

Team Stats

Individual Stats

Scoring - (SP) Miller 20, Vittetow 16, Teipen 9, Cline 4, Pistelli 3, Pilcher 2, Custis 2; (RP) Duke 20, Bennett 12, H. Mathas 6, Barnes 6, Montgomery 4, Vanatti 2

Rebounding - (SP) Miller 9, Teipen 7, Cline 4, Pilcher 4, Vittetow 2, Pistelli 1; (RP) Duke 20, H. Mathas 5, Vanatti 5, Bennett 3, K. Mathas 2, Montgomery 2, two with 1