The 11-7 Panthers made short work of the 2-12 Murphysboro girls on Thursday, a team that is admittedly having an off season.
Still, Panther Coach Alan Engelhardt saw a lot to like about his Pinckneyville team, who went to 12-7 on the night.
"I thought we did a good job of getting out into transition and scoring, without letting them set their defense," Engelhardt said. "Kenzie (Rushing) did a great job of making her teammates better by putting them in great positions to score, and we did a nice job of finishing off those plays."
Pinckneyville started off a little slowly, and gave Murphy the first quarter, 14-10. After that, it was all Panthers. They led 27-16 at the half, 51-26 after three and 64-36 at the end of the game.
"In the third quarter, we did a good job of turning defense into offense, using our trap to get some deflections and run-outs," Engelhardt said. "We did a good job of feeding the post tonight, and Payton Morgan had her best offensive game of the year, doing a nice job of finishing around the rim."
Engelhardt said any game they can get six players scoring 7 or more points, is a good night, "and you have a chance to be successful.
'It was also good to see Bella Pasquino constantly searching for her offense, and using her shot to create driving lanes. I also thought Aubrey Bruns was much more aggressive both defensively and offensively, and Lily Tanner was all over the defensive glass."
Quarter by quarter scoring: Pinckneyville 10 17 24 13 64; Murphysboro 14 02 12 08 36.
Panther scoring: Haliegh Kling 1; Lily Tanner 7; Aubrey Bruns 8; Lily Britt 7; Kenzie Rushing 12; Bella Pasquino 14; Payton Morgan 15.
Murphy scoring: Island Dooley 5; Bridgett Clover 3; Bela Cerrato 2; Deairra Harris 14; Kylee Kerrens 6; Ashley Jarrett 6.
3-Pointers: Murphysboro 2 (Clover, Jarrett); Pinckneyville 4 (Britt, Pasquino 3).
• Next up: The Panthers head to Sparta Tuesday. Tipoff is at 6:15 p.m. The final will be too late for our deadline.
