PHOTOS BY JACOB KESSLER / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
BATTLE ON THE BOARDS … Delta’s Addison Wyse (#23) goes up over Grace Remington of Pettisville for a rebound.
UNDER PRESSURE … Grace Hastings looks for an open teammate with Delta defenders applying pressure.
By: Joe Blystone
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
publisher@thevillagereporter.com
DELTA (December 10, 2024) – After wins over Montpelier and a good Ottawa Hills team, Delta got off the ground fast with a 13-0 opening burst over Pettisville and went on to a 59-23 romp over the Blackbirds to go to 3-0 on the year.
“Our key word tonight was confidence,” Delta coach Kelsey Gillen said after the game. “After a couple of tough wins, we needed that confidence building game and go out and take control early.”
Abbey Todd got the Panthers going in the first 20 seconds with a triple from the head of the key that started the early scoring salvo.
Then three straight turnovers led to Keagyn Gillen’s stick back, another Todd three-ball and Anna Lohman’s hoop for a 10-0 lead just two and half minutes in.
Lohman’s second chance triple capped the run before Olivia Miller finally got the Blackbirds on the board with a couple free throws.
“That was kind of the plan all along,” Gillen said of trying to get off fast. “We like to play a fast pace and the steals to get that lead and push the ball definitely helped us.”
Ashalyn Rice got a putback with 1:42 left for the first Pettisville (2-4) field goal but before that, the Blackbirds had committed seven turnovers and went 1-9 from the field in the first eight minutes.
Kendall Sprow’s triple and score off yet another turnover to open the second extended the Delta led to 22-4.
Two more Todd buckets off two of the 11 Pettisville second quarter turnovers, along with another each from Sprow and Lohman ballooned the margin to 31-11 at the half.
“We’re a lot taller than we have been in past years, so our wingspan is huge,” Gillen stated. “We have to continue to push and definitely create more opportunities with our defense.”
The Panthers lead grew to 51-19 after the third as Sprow scored seven third quarter points with Natalie Friess and McKenzie Kruger adding buckets in close as Gillen ran a revolving door from the bench to the score table substitution wise.
Sprow’s last score with 5:49 left put the running clock rule into effect at 55-19.
Sprow led all scorers with 18 but she had plenty of help. Todd added 15 and Lohman had 14 to place three Panthers in double figures.
For as fast of a pace the Panthers played with, they had just 12 turnovers compared to Pettisville’s 29. Pettisville shot 8/32 from the floor while the Panthers got off 60 attempts, making 25.
PETTISVILLE (23) – Rice 2; Strauss 3; Hastings 0; Bennett 0; G. Remington 2; Fox 4; M. Remington 0; Miller 7; Davis 4; Beltz 1; Totals: 7-1-6 – 23
DELTA (59) – Lohman 14; Todd 15; Kruger 2; Martinez 0; Friess 4; A. Gillen 0; Sprow 18; Wyse 2; K. Gillen 2; Mohring 0; Pedrew 2; Totals: 19-6-3 – 59
PHS 4 7 8 4 – 23
DHS 17 14 20 8 – 59
Junior Varsity: Pettisville, 42-36