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Lady Panthers fall to Castle

joseph russell, messenger-inquirer, owensboro, ky.
·4 min read

Dec. 22—The Daviess County High School girls basketball team started finding its rhythm in the second half, but the Lady Panthers' comeback bid ultimately fell short in a 52-45 loss to Castle (Ind.) in the Independence Bank Kentucky vs. Indiana Classic Wednesday afternoon at the Sportscenter.

After trailing 39-24 following a 3-pointer from Castle's Kenzie Holderfield with 2:30 left in the third quarter, DC (2-6) regrouped to close the frame on a 9-0 run — pulling to within 39-33 heading into the final eight minutes.

However, Castle (9-7) had an answer each time DC scored the rest of the way. The Lady Panthers got to within six points on four occasions down the stretch but could never get any closer.

DCHS coach Stephen Haile credited Castle's pressure defense, which often sent three players to the ball to create havoc. The Lady Knights jumped out of the gate with a 16-6 lead midway through the first quarter behind forcing turnovers that led to easy shots in transition. Castle carried a 21-13 advantage into the first break and led 30-17 at intermission.

"They gamble a lot in their press and we talked about it at shootaround today about looking down the floor," said Haile, whose team was still shorthanded without point guard Emme Roberts. "We made a couple changes to our press offense. We had the looks early, we just didn't necessarily make the right pass. We got to come out and start the game better.

"We were able to switch defenses on them a little bit, playing some different zones. Offensively, they came out of whack a little bit so that helped us out in the third and fourth quarter. We finally started breaking the press, having a two- or three-on-one or three-on-two and making the right passes for wide open layups."

Still, Haile added, his players created opportunities for themselves against Castle's hectic pace.

"They're a good team," he said. "Sometimes it's hard to adjust to the speed. They have five smaller kids, guard-type players, and we're a different type of team.

"We had a chance to get back in the game, and we probably took a couple looks that we didn't really need to take. When you're turning the ball over like that, they run out quick on you."

Adylan Ayer finished with 15 points to lead the Lady Panthers, while Briley Henry added 12 points.

"They were our ones that handled it a little bit more," Haile said of his top scorers. "Briley took the ball to the basket a little more tonight than she had been doing. She got to the free-throw line — I talked a couple days ago in practice and challenged a few of them about things we need to improve on, and some of them did those things here tonight."

Devyn Barton scored a game-high 17 points to power Castle, with Jordan Scott adding 12 points.

"They're a good team, a quality team," Haile said of the Lady Knights. "I'd like to see us finish one out, but one of the good things was that was one of the few games this year where we played better in the second half than the first half.

"Tonight, we went back to the locker room, regrouped, made some adjustments and got back in the game."

CASTLE|21 9 9 13 — 52

DAVIESS COUNTY|13 4 16 12 — 45

Castle (52) — Barton 17, Jo. Scott 12, Quinn 9, Ja. Scott 6, Lowe 4, Holderfield 3, Wimsatt 1.

Daviess County (45) — Ayer 15, Henry 12, Ma. Hancock 6, Spurrier 6, Beehn 4, Moran 2.

TOURNEY SCHEDULE CHANGES

Due to inclement weather in the forecast, some times and matchups for Thursday's Kentucky vs. Indiana Classic schedule have been changed.

In all girls action, Muhlenberg County will play Scott at 9 a.m.; Henderson County takes on Washington (Ind.) at 10:30 a.m., Daviess County will face McLean County at 12:10 p.m.; and Owensboro will square off against Evansville Memorial at 1:45 p.m.

The Independence Bank Senior Sock Drive continues, as fans are encouraged to bring socks to be donated to nursing homes in Daviess, McLean and Henderson counties.