SUB-SECTION 3A PLAY-IN GAME / TMB 47, SWC 39
With the offense having an off night, TMB relied on its defense to win last Thursday’s Sub-Section 3A South play-in game, 47-39, over Southwest Christian.
The Panthers’ lack of consistency on offense against an aggressive SWC defense was prevalent all night, and SWC held a 25-20 lead at the break. Then the TMB defense took over.
The Eagles missed their first six shots of the second half, allowing TMB to tie the game at 25-25 on a three by Allie Adams. And not only did the Panther defense force bad shot after bad shot, it created turnovers as well.
The Eagles committed eight turnovers in the first 7 minutes of the second half, and their shooting struggles continued as the half wore on. It wasn’t until the 3:34 mark of the second half that SWC recorded its first field goal, and by that time, the Panthers had built a semi-comfortable lead at 39-31.
Somehow, the Eagles were within four points with :58 to go, but Melaina Ankrum grabbed a rebound off a TMB missed free throw to all but seal the game. A couple of late free throws from the Panthers closed it out.
Both teams shot poorly, as the defense on both sides were on top of their game. SWC shot just 23% from the field and missed 28 three-point attempts. TMB wasn’t much better, shooting 36% from the field and making just five of 17 shots from beyond the arc. The Eagles’ pressure defense on the perimeter forced the Panther offense into a simliar situation as their counterparts, as TMB launched a number of forced shots and also committed many turnovers.
Ankrum had a game-high 14 points and nine rebounds, and Gretchen Lanoue a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double.
Adams and Alli Dolan added six points apiece, and Lauren Knakmuhs scored five.
SWC 25 14 — 39 TMB 20 27 — 47 SWC
S. Prins 2-110-0 6, Brands 1-8 0-0 3, Johnson 1-6 0-0 2, Nordby 1-6 2-4 4, Kooiker 5-13 2-2 13, Haan 2-4 0-0 4, V. Prins 2-13 0-0 4, Blom 1-3 0-0 3.
Totals: 15-65 4-4 39. Three-pointers: 5-33. Assists: 9. Rebounds: 36. Steals: 11. Turnovers: 25. TMB
Lanoue 4-13 2-7 10, Mankrum 5-12 2-11 14, Munson 0-4 4-6 4, Knakmuhs 2-4 1-2 5, Knott 1-1 0-0 2, Adams 2-5 1-2 6, Dolan 2-8 0-0 6. Anderson 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 16-48 10-28 47. Threepointers: 5-17 (Ankrum 2-4, Dolan 2-7, Adams 1-1, Munson 0-2, Knakmuhs 0-1. Assists: 13 (Lanoue 6, Ankrum 4, Munson, Dolan, Adams). Rebounds: 29 (Lanoue 10, Ankrum 9, Munson 5, Knott 3, Anderson 2). Blocks: 2 (Ankrum, Knott). Steals: 13 (Ankrum 4, Lanoue 3, Munson 2, Adams 2, Knakmuhs).
