Panthers top 'Dogs

ROCKFORD - Parkway got out to a hot start and then made all the right plays down the stretch as Celina tried to come back.

The Panthers hit 12-of-17 free throws in the fourth quarter to pick up a 42-33 win in Mercer County girls basketball action at Panther Gymnasium in Rockford on Monday. The win evens Parkway's record at 4-4 as Celina drops below .500 at 3-4.

The first three shots Parkway tried were successful as the Panthers jumped out to an 11-0 lead on the Bulldogs and Celina coach Cenzie Yoder had to burn timeouts in less than 4 minutes to try and settle her charges. After the second timeout, Celina began to find its balance. Kennedy Henry hit a trey to snap the scoring skid and Maria Lutz and Carley Eichler added baskets to whittle the deficit down to 13-7 at the end of the quarter.

"It was a perfect start we were hoping for," said Parkway coach Dan Williamson. "We knew (Celina) was going to grind and get back in the game, which they did."

"We can't play from behind," said Rushton. "We've done that in several games. I don't know if we're not getting off the bus energized or it just takes a while to get going. We play when we're down and that cannot be the case."

Celina got as close as three points in the second quarter, but freshman Gabrielle Stober led a charge to put the lead back to 24-13 at the half.

"We were playing well defensively," said Williamson, whose squad forced 11 Celina turnovers in the first half. "We had to drop out of the press into a man-to-man in the second, third and fourth quarters. The girls have been working hard."

Trailing 30-20 starting the fourth quarter, Celina made a run. Maria Lutz scored on a stickback and Kyilla Billingsley and Carley Eichler each hit free throws to cut the margin to 30-25. Leah Harshman stopped the run with a pair of free throws but Billingsley's bucket with 4:43 remaining in regulation got Celina back to within five. After another Harshman free throw, Emma Homan scored to get Celina within four with 3:16 remaining.

After a trading of points made the score 35-31 with 1:51 remaining, Parkway began to pull away thanks to the foul line. Stober was 6-of-6 in the final 1:44 of the contest and Claire Eichler added three freebies in five attempts to get the lead back into a comfortable position.

"We hung tough and made plays when we really had to offensively and defensively," said Williamson. "We made enough shots in the fourth quarter to hang on and extend our lead. We knew Celina wasn't going to back down and they gave us every bit we could handle. It's nice to see the girls improve. I think earlier in the season we may have lost this game. We wouldn't been able to handle that pressure."

"The girls picked up their intensity when we're down. That helps a bit," said Rushton. "We got the ball inside to the post a little more toward the end and got some easy buckets."

Stober finished with a game-high 16 points to lead Parkway. Claire Eichler added 10 points.

Carley Eichler scored eight to lead Celina.

Parkway is off until next Monday when Botkins visits Rockford. Celina hosts its annual OVISCO Classic starting Saturday at the Fieldhouse. Coldwater faces St. Henry in the 1 p.m. game with Celina taking on Marion Local at 2:30 p.m. The consolation and championship games will be next Monday at 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.