By MARC TOBIAS
mtobias@dailystandard.com
ROCKFORD — If last night is any indication, then this
year’s Parkway girls’ basketball squad might be
able to turn a few heads this season.
Parkway knocked off Wayne Trace 59-47, thanks in large part
to a strong defensive effort.
The Panthers still have a few kinks to work out on the offensive
side, but it’s already evident that this year’s
squad is playing with more defensive intensity compared to a
year ago.
Amanda Jutte helped jump-start the Panthers early with a pair
of steals for easy layups in the first quarter, the second of
which put the Panthers up 13-6.
Parkway forced seven Raiders turnovers in the first quarter
to help build the lead.
Emily Snyder also had a strong start inside for Parkway, as
she scored six points while pulling down nine rebounds in a
solid first 16 minutes.
“Offensively we played better as far as trying to move
the ball, we still forced some passes but we’re starting
to understand a little bit better on that side of the floor,”
said Parkway coach Jeff Marbaugh.
In the second quarter the Panthers were able to extend their
lead to 27-15 when Cassie Steinbrunner scored two of her six
points, but Wayne Trace ended the second quarter with a flurry
to only trail by six at the half.
Wayne Trace got as close as two in the third quarter on a Nicole
Sisson bucket, but Parkway was able to answer every Raiders
run.
After the Sisson bucket, Parkway rattled off nine straight points
which ended with a Jayme Marbaugh jumper.
Marbaugh and Amy Harner both did a nice job handling the point,
as Marbaugh scored nine points with six rebounds, while the
duo combined for eight assists.
“There were a few points in the game where they made good
runs at us, and when we’d get in a little bit of a hurry,”
coach Marbaugh said. “Those are the times we sort of forced
(passes) and they came back (Continued from page 1B)
and scored. We collected ourselves at least and we made a few
plays to put us back up. I told the kids that’s the difference
between winning and losing.”
The Raiders drew within four midway through the fourth quarter,
but a Jutte steal that led to a basket and a foul extended the
lead right back to seven.
“If there’s a run you need to come back down and
answer that run a little bit and keep your lead,” coach
Marbaugh said. “Keep your composure and keep playing through
it, we did that and stretched our defense. I thought they picked
up themselves defensively after those short runs and that helped
us play offense.”
Parkway’s defense was solid all night as it forced 25
turnovers and held Wayne Trace to 17-of-61 (27 percent) shooting
from the field.
“The size of Parkway wasn’t allowing us to go to
certain places on the floor and get our offense started, all
in all the physical size just wore us down,” said Wayne
Trace coach Gus Davis.
The Panthers also won the rebound battle 37 to 30.
“So far we’ve played our 1-2-2 and we’re starting
to understand how I’d like them to play it, and they played
it well,” Marbaugh said.
In Parkway’s three games they’ve allowed an average
of 44.3 points per game.
Jutte finished with 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting, while grabbing
four rebounds and four steals.
Snyder finished with 13 points and 10 boards while Tiffany Steinbrunner
contributed seven points and eight rebounds.
Sisson led Wayne Trace with 13 points on 5-of-15 shooting.
Both squads now stand at 1-2.
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