St. Ignace girls hold off Panthers on the road
PICKFORD – The St. Ignace girls' basketball team may not be what they once were on the basketball scene, but they’re not bad either.
On Tuesday night, that was good enough to get the job done as the Saints earned a 48-37 road win over the Pickford Panthers in a non-conference matchup at the Purple Palace.
The first quarter closed with a 12-6 advantage for the visiting Saints, and neither team had much going offensively. The margin floated between four and six points throughout the second quarter, with the Saints always in front. Madison Thurmes made an old-fashioned three-point play as she drove to the basket and hit a runner as she was fouled with 1:54 left in the opening half. Thurmes dropped the free throw and closed the St. Ignace lead to 17-13.
With 20 seconds left in the second quarter, the Saints went to a high-low offense and It paid dividends as Addison Cullen took a pass in the high post and immediately found Tabitha Shepard on the low block for a layup and a 21-15 lead. With just two seconds left in the half, Allison Cece got a putback layup after an offensive rebound and sent the Saints into the locker room with a 23-15 lead.
“Even though we weren’t converting early, we were able to get up and down the court and create some transition opportunities,” said St. Ignace coach Dorene Ingalls. “We are a really young team and although the passes aren’t always connecting, they are making the right reads so I know we’ll get there.”
Neither team seemed able to impose its will on the other over the course of the second half. The teams traded baskets in the third quarter, with St. Ignace expanding its lead slightly, heading into the final eight minutes with a 33-22 lead.
Things looked bleak in the fourth for the Panthers as Thurmes picked up her third foul on a charge with just a half-minute gone in the third. She played smart though and was able to contribute down the stretch. She scored eight of her team-high 17 points in the fourth, including two three pointers.
“She’s a really good player,” Ingalls said simply of Thurmes. “You’re not going to hold her down all night.”
With 5:15 left in the game, the Panthers had the lead down to eight after a Kadence Potoczak layup that made the score 39-31. As was so often the case over the course of the night, however, the Saints had an answer. Jillian Fraser tripled for three of her game-high 18 points to bump the lead back up to 11 with 4:33 left. The Panthers would close the lead to 10 once more with 4:23 left after a Potoczak free throw, but that was as close as they would come.
“I was happy with the way our girls played,” said Pickford coach Christy Thurmes. “We gave some easy baskets early because we were trying to help on defense a little too much and gave them some open looks. We also missed some puppies early on and you just can’t miss those kinds of shots against St. Ignace.”
In addition to Fraser’s scoring, Addison Cullen had 11 points, and Avery Visnaw chipped in with nine.
For the Panthers, Isa Franklin joined Thurmes in double figure scoring with 10 points.
The Panthers, 4-7, will travel to Brimley on Thursday, while St. Ignace, 9-4 will travel to Harbor Springs on Monday.
ST. IGNACE 12 11 10 15 – 48
PICKFORD 6 9 7 15 – 37
ST. IGNACE – Visnaw 9, Shepard 4, Fraser 18, Cadence Cullen 4, Addison Cullen 11, Cece 2. FT: 18-31; F: 12; Fouled out: None; 3PFG: 4 (Fraser 2, Visnaw 1, Cadence Cullen 1).
PICKFORD – Thurmes 17, Cottle 4, Bush 1, Franklin 10, Potoczak 4. FT: 6-11; F: 20; Fouled out: Potoczak; 3PFG: 3 (Thurmes 2, Franklin 1).
This article originally appeared on The Sault News: St. Ignace girls hold off Panthers on the road
