GIRLS BASKETBALL: Lady Panthers edged by Okawville

Pinckneyville got 16 points apiece from Andrea Morgan and Sophie Keith, but would come up three points short in a 50-47 home loss to Okawville on Saturday afternoon. The Lady Panthers trailed 14-11 after the first quarter before playing evening with the Lady Rockets in each of the next three periods.

"We had enough offense to win this game," said PCHS head coach Alan Engelhardt. "Our defense let us down, surrendering way too many dribble drives. Virtually all of their points came off of dribble penetration where they either scored the ball or kicked to shooters for scores."

Okawville improved to 8-3 on the year with the victory.

Raygan Yates added 8 points for Pinckneyville, Mayci Doerflein had 4 and Taylor Smith finished with 3.

"I thought both Andrea Morgan and Sophie Keith had their best days of the year for us, playing complete games on both ends of the floor," said Engelhardt. "Andrea scored 16 points despite being face-guarded the entire game, hitting 4 of 5 threes; but just as importantly, really getting out and guarding for an entire game. Sophie had a double-double for us, scoring 16 and pulling down 10 rebounds. We have come to expect the defense and rebounding from her, but the aggression on the offensive end, posting up and driving was exciting to see."

"Also, as usual, I thought Raygan Yates did a nice job of handling pressure and getting us into our offense as well. Our next step, as a team, is to force the defense to guard all five spots on the floor instead of just three."

First place in the Southern Illinois River-to-River Conference Mississippi Division is on the line when the Lady Panthers (9-3, 3-0) travel to Nashville (5-2, 2-0) on Tuesday night.