Gritty defensive effort tides Panthers over

FORT RECOVERY - Parkway's defense carried it through an ice-cold start, and the Panthers' offense came to life in the second half for a 49-24 victory over Fort Recovery in a Midwest Athletic Conference girls basketball game at Fort Site Fieldhouse on Thursday.

Parkway (6-0, 2-0 MAC) scored just six points through the first 14 1/2 minutes before pulling ahead just before halftime, then turning on the jets in the third.

"Kind of last-minute, we threw that press in there, just trying to generate some offense, some way," Parkway coach Dan Williamson said. "It was enough in the first half. I think our depth kind of wore them down. You could tell their girls were pretty winded by the time the end of the third quarter came around. But we just tried to do anything we could to put some points on the board."

Allison Hughes got the Panthers on the board with 4:08 left in the first, putting back a miss by Paige Williamson, but that was all that Fort Recovery (0-5, 0-2 MAC) allowed in the first eight minutes. The Indians pulled ahead when Kennedy Muhlenkamp converted an and-one to make it 3-2 with 1:51 remaining.

Parkway shot just 1-of-15 in the first quarter, with top scorer Gabrielle Stober going 0-of-5, and struggled to get inside against Fort Recovery's zone.

"I was really happy that they were positive with themselves," coach Williamson said. "They knew they could play better, and they did."

Maddie Guggenbiller hit a trey from the top of the key 40 seconds into the second quarter to put the Indians up by four, but Stober answered with a pair of free throws and Hughes tied the game with a layup 5:48 remaining in the half.

Both defenses dug in again, with 3 1/2 scoreless minutes passing without a basket by either team.

"We know Parkway is going to be good," Fort Recovery coach Holly Gann said. "But for 14 minutes of the game, we were right where we needed to be. We have to look at some things, where we saw the momentum shift a little bit, and make those changes, just get back in the gym tomorrow and get better."

But the Panthers' pressure finally started to bear fruit late in the second. Fort Recovery turned the ball over after failing to inbound the ball in five seconds, Stober hit a layup on a pass from Hughes to break the tie, and the Indians fumbled the ball out of bounds near mid-court.

Hughes put back a miss by Williamson, Stober stole the ball and hit a free throw, and Brittyn Bruns got a steal to set up a Stober hook shot that rolled around the rim and fell in with 19.8 seconds left to make it 13-6.

"We knew if we could run the ball with our offense for long stretches, it took the transition out of the game, slowed it down, we controlled the tempo," Gann said. "So I think it was pretty easy to see the game strategy there, and it worked for us for a while. I'll have to watch it here, to see where was the pivotal point where we decided we weren't going to do that anymore."

Guggenbiller hit another three early in the third to cut the lead to six, but Parkway's offense was starting to round into form. Hughes converted a hoop-and-harm, Adria Miller put back a miss and Williamson drained back-to-back threes to make it 23-10.

Cali Wendel beat the press for an Indians layup, but Williamson hit another three, then found Hughes for a transition layup, and Bruns got a steal and a breakaway bucket as Parkway closed out the third with a 19-point lead.

Williamson hit her fourth trey two minutes into the fourth quarter, finishing 4-of-8 from behind the arc for 12 points.

"She's struggled the last couple games," coach Williamson said. "Taking good shots, kind of like the first half, just rushing it a little bit. Hopefully the second half for her will kind of get her going."

Stober also scored 12 points, while Guggenbiller led the Indians with 11. Hughes finished with a game-high 16 points and 10 rebounds.

"Allie's starting to come along," coach Williamson said. "She's not just an offensive rebounder anymore. We can throw her the ball, and she's got some post moves she can finish with."

Parkway travels to Antwerp on Saturday with a chance to make it seven straight wins to open the season. Fort Recovery returns to action Tuesday with a trip to St. Marys.