JOHN CURTIS - Daily Union Sports Editor
Pana (15-9) took on Carlinville (18-3) with high hopes, but the Cavaliers got an early lead and used that as a cushion as Pana kept trying to come back and couldn't get over the hump, losing 57-47.
Carlinville led 10-1 early in the first quarter and had 11 offensive rebounds in the first quarter. Pana kept the deficit between seven and nine points most of the second quarter and Ashley Funneman made a buzzer beater to make it 24-17 at the break.
Grace Holthaus made back-to-back treys early in the third period and Pana cut the deficit to five, 28-23. Both teams were hot, making 7-of-7 from the field early in the third, but Pana was still down by nine to start the fourth, 42-33. Pana got a quick start again in the fourth, with a DeWerff lay-up and an Allison Allen bucket to cut the lead down to five, 42-37.
But, Carlinville extended the lead back out to ten points, 47-37. DeWerff knocked down another 3-pointer, then got a transition lay-up to make it a 5-point game again, 47-42 with 2:30 to play. But, once again Pana could not get any closer. Every time they got within five and had a chance to make it 3 -point game, they missed shots. Carlinville made five free throws late to seal the victory.
"Carlinville's early aggressiveness on the boards really hurt us, "said Pana coach JR Boudouris. "You can't give up 11 offensive rebounds in the first quarter to a top ten team. Carlinville capitalized on those second chances we gave them and built that 10-1 lead. Still, aside from that, I thought the girls played extremely hard at both ends of the floor and never stopped battling. We had multiple chances in the second half to cut their lead from five points to three (or 2 ), but our shots didn't fall, and we were forced to foul late."
Pana played well against a top ten team, but had more turnovers, less rebounds, and didn't get to or make as many free throws, so Pana lost by ten.
Carlinville 53, Pana 43
Pana 6-11-16-10--43
C'ville 13-11-18-11--53
Pana stats: DeWerff 14 (4-2s, 1-3 pt FGs), 5 rebounds, 1 assist; Allen 13 (5 FGs, 3/4 FTs ), 5 rebounds, 2 steals; Katie Lees 6 (6/8 FTs), 2 rebounds, 1 assist; Grace Holthaus 6 (2-3 pt FGs, 0/2 FTs), 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals; Ericka Bumgardner 2 ( FG), 1 rebound, 2 assists; Ashley Funneman 2 ( FG), 2 rebounds, 2 assists; Jessica Harbert 1 rebound; Nadine Vaughn 6 rebounds, 1 steal; Jessica Etter 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals. Team FGs 16 92-3 pt; DeWerff 2). Team FTs 9-of-14. Rebounds 27. Assists 13. Steals 5. Turnovers 15.
C'ville stats: Kelly 22 (7 FGs, 8/14 FTs), Card 10 (4 FGs, 2/2 FTs), Boente 8 (2-2s, 1-3 pt FGs, 1/2 FTs), Bates 7 (2 FGs, 3/6 FTs), Wernsing 5 (1-2, 1-3 pt FGs), Volton 1 (1/2 FTs). Team FGs 18 (2-3 pt: Boente, Wernsing). Team FTs 15-of-26
