Palmyra Downs Lady Eagles at Highland

Palmyra Downs Lady Eagles at Highland

By David Sharp

Palmyra (6-4) jumped out to a 14-2 lead in the 2012 Highland Tournament girl’s third place game and dumped the Lady Eagles (2-7) by a final score of 61-29.
Palmyra was simply too quick as a team for the Lady Eagles to handle on this night.
Highland knocked off top seeded Palmyra 47-42 in the semi-finals. Ashton Luttrull dropped 26 points on the Lady Panthers. Palmyra standout Katie Serbin was limited to seven points by Highland.
Katee Hinkle and Evie Miles scored 11 Palmyra points in the Highland game. The fire was evident in Lady Panther eyes before the contest. Palmyra’s girls wanted to make a statement against a solid opponent, and did just that.
The Lady Panthers were ranked eighth n the Class 3 coaches poll early in the season. Palmyra has played top ranked Quincy Notre Dame and Liberty among other quality opponents.
Hannah Strange scored the first Knox County field goal with 1:55 to play in the first quarter. Palmyra led 18-8 after one period and 41-12 at the half.
Taylor Lincoln fired in a three with 6:35 remaining in the second quarter. Palmyra led 20-11 at the time. The Lady Panthers closed the first half on a 21-1 run.
Knox County forced too many passes, trying to make plays that were not there against a quick Palmyra defense. Palmyra dominated the boards, getting to good spots with their quickness.
The athletic Panthers out ran a physically gifted Knox County team down the court many times. Knox County played with more fire in the second half. Hannah Strange scored the first KCHS second half points on a put back. Palmyra led 43-14 with 5:36 remaining in the period.
Palmyra outscored Knox County 14-8 in the third quarter and led 55-20 entering the final eight minutes. The clock ran by the Missouri Mercy Rule. Palmyra inserted their JV into the game in the fourth quarter.
Amy Gudehus scored with 2:10 to play in the contest for a 61-27 Palmyra lead. The Lady Panthers got much better possessions on the night and won third place by the 61-29 final.
Katie Serbin scored a game high 18 Palmyra points. Allie Dietrich scored 12 and Evie Miles added ten PHS points. “We challenged these kids to come back after Wednesday’s loss and play to their ability,” Palmyra coach Brian Wosman said.
“Everybody that stepped on the floor played well for us tonight. We have been struggling on the boards on both ends this year,” Brian Wosman said. “We challenged the kids to come out and rebound tonight. Katie (Serbin) did a good job grabbing boards on both ends.”
“Katie’s play built momentum for our other kids. This was probably one of our better games this year,” Wosman said. “We had good ball movement. We ran the floor well tonight. Knox at times took it to us athletically. I think they are going to be a good team down the road.”
“I was pretty impressed with the way our kids played tonight.” Hannah Strange led Knox County with 11 points. Kathleen Hinkle put in nine points. Taylor Lincoln scored three points. Devin Gudehus added two KCHS points.
Knox County goes out of the frying pan into the fire, traveling to top ranked defending Class 1 state champion Marion County on Tuesday, January 10.
The Lady Eagles improved their free throw shooting, going 8-12 from the charity stripe. “We gave so much up on second chances and turnovers. When you run into a good team like Palmyra you almost have to play a perfect game,” Knox County coach Ron Lebel said.
“Palmyra is a good shooting team. If you miss, you had better go get a rebound against them,” Lebel said.
“We are still trying to find answers how to win basketball games. They are farther along in the season than we are.”