Tigers rally to defeat Panthers

COLDWATER - Waynesfield-Goshen defeated Parkway 53-31 on Dec. 18.

The Tigers had to work a lot harder for a win against the Panthers in the Division IV sectional opener on Tuesday.

Parkway jumped out to an 11-0 lead, but Kayla Wicker scored 30 points as Waynesfield-Goshen fought back and put away the game late for a 48-37 victory at the Palace.

Waynesfield-Goshen advances to play top-seeded Minster in the sectional final on Saturday at 8 p.m. in Coldwater. Parkway finishes the season 3-20.

"It's a positive for us to play as well as we did," Parkway coach Linda Hawk said. "I told the girls win, lose or draw I just want to play well and carry it into next season."

The Panthers jumped out to an 11-0 lead after four minutes of action. Rachel Barrett began the game with a 3-pointer, Stephanie Schaaf had a bucket, Claire Eichler made 3 of 4 free throw attempts and Allie Ford banked in a trey to force a Goshen timeout with 3:59 remaining. Wicker put Waynesfield-Goshen on the board with a 3 and added another from deep later to help cut the deficit to 15-8 after one.

Wicker added her third 3 to start the second quarter. She made two free throws and nearing the four-minute mark, Wicker drove, side stepped a defender and scored to tie the game at 17-all. Rylie Barrington stole Parkway's ensuing inbounds pass and scored to give W-G its first lead, 19-17, with 3:53 to play.

Parkway had eight turnovers against Goshen's full-court pressure in the second quarter. The Panthers reclaimed a lead late in the fame, but Wicker's fourth 3 gave the Tigers a 22-21 advantage at halftime.

"We were really trying to get it into Eichler," Hawk said. "They started double teaming her and we kept passing it to her. … It came down to where have had problems all year with our passing and turning the ball over."

A different Tiger got going in the third quarter.

Jordan Elliott, held without a point in the first half, scored eight points as Waynesfield-Goshen broke a broke a 24-all tie with an 11-3 run to finish the quarter.

Eichler made two free throws to start the fourth and Leah Harshman added a bucket as Parkway closed to within 35-31. But Wicker responded with four straight points. Parkway closed the gap to five points twice more. Eichler converted a bucket at the two-minute mark that cut the score to 42-37. Wicker answered again, though, cutting her way through the lane for two points, and the Panthers never got closer.

Wicker added four free throws down the stretch to finish her 30-point night.

"We made some adjustments based on what we did last time," Hawk said. "We didn't contain (Wicker) like we wanted to do, but we knew we probably couldn't handle them in man-to-man a lot. I thought we cut down on their penetration and did a lot better. We got a little tired in the third quarter, got a little lazy on defense. But overall, I was really pleased and really happy with how the girls played tonight."

Eichler, who didn't play in the first meeting with W-G, scored six of her team-high 12 points in the fourth and added 10 rebounds for a double-double. Ford scored 11 points and Barrett added eight.