GIRLS BASKETBALL: Lady Panthers fight off late charge from Steeleville

The Lady Panthers fought off a late charge by Steeleville on Saturday, hanging on for a 35-34 road victory, their sixth win of the season.

Pinckneyville led 13-5 after the opening quarter, and had a 29-21 lead heading to the fourth, but Steeleville made a run at them with a 13-6 final frame.

"I don't fault our effort, but at some point, our execution needs to improve," said PCHS head coach Alan Engelhardt. "When you miss 13 shots in the paint (many uncontested), you are going to get into closer games than you should. When you don't pay attention to player profiles, knowing what players can shoot and what players will only drive to their right hands, you are going to give up more points than you should. And once again we gave up 11 second chance points."

Raygan Yates led PCHS with 10 points, Sophie Keith had 7, Megan Breslin 6, Taylor Smith 4, and Mayci Doerflein, Caitlyn Anderson, Mariah Clark, and Gabby Bartnicki each scored 2.

"Raygan Yates hit some big shots for us down the stretch to help us build a lead, and once again Megan Breslin came in and gave us a spark off the bench, scoring 6 points," added Engelhardt. "We have some work to do to get better in order to be able to compete down the stretch."

The Lady Panthers (6-2) travel to Du Quoin on Tuesday night.