By: Joe Blystone
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
publisher@thevillagereporter.com
SWANTON (February 1, 2024) – Delta jumped out to a second quarter double-digit lead, then held off two Swanton second half rallies to take a 52-43 win over the Bulldogs to raise their mark to 10-8 on the season.
Despite eight first quarter turnovers, the Bulldogs jumped on top 13-11 thanks to a trifecta of shots from senior guard Emma Crow.
Crow offset the Panthers’ Grace Munger’s six points by hitting a pull up jumper, a second chance hoop and a lay in off Alexa Ostrander’s dish to help give Swanton a two-point lead heading into the second.
Kendall Sprow’s steal and score knotted the game 20 ticks into the second then a barrage of Delta three-pointers drove the Panthers in front.
Kate Friess stuck one from the corner after a Swanton turnover, then after another Bulldog miscue, Ella Demaline hit from the right wing to make it 19-13.
Demaline bagged another from long range off an inbounds play and Sprow hit the fourth Panther triple of the quarter form the top of the circle to help push the Panthers up 10 at 29-19 at the half.
“We hit a bunch of threes at the right time. Ella Demaline got a couple of big ones,” Delta coach Kelsey Gillen said.
“Everyone worked together, we took pretty good care of the ball and made the most of our opportunities off turnovers. It was another case of we over me again tonight.”
Swanton committed a massive 19 first half turnovers but got more in sync offensively starting the third. Crow knocked home a deep triple and baseline jumper, and Samantha Nelson used Olivia Gowing’s dish off the break to slice the Panther lead to 31-27 with 4:16 left in the third.
Munger’s baseball pass to Friess against the press, Sprow’s putback then her pass to Demaline for a score off the break got Delta back up 39-31 heading into the fourth.
Peighton Manning fueled one last Swanton (7-10, 1-4 NWOAL) rally, drilling a pair of triples along with a score off the offensive glass to bring Swanton back to within a hoop at 43-41 with 5:37 left.
“They started to pull back in and we looked like we started panicking a little bit,” Gillen explained. “Both times we hit a big shot to keep us on top and let us get the lead back to a bigger margin.”
However, Olivia Smith went 2/2 at the line, Munger drove the left slot for a score and Sprow, working the glass scored on a third chance to again put the Panthers (10-8, 2-3 NWOAL) ahead by eight at 49-41.
For the night, the hard-working Sprow had 16 points, half of those coming off putbacks.
“Kendall was really good tonight,” said Gillen. “She went inside a little more than what she is used to. She crashes the boards hard and got a lot of hoops when we needed them.”
Friess added 14 for the Panthers and Munger had 10. Delta shot just 18/52 for the night but scored 10 points off putbacks and another 15 off 27 Swanton turnovers.
Crow had 15 and Manning 12 to lead Swanton.
DELTA (52) – Demaline 8; Munger 10; Todd 0; Friess 14; Haas 0; Sprow 16; Lamb 0; Gillen 0; Smith 4; Totals: 14-4-12 – 52
SWANTON (43) – Shinaver 0; Finfera 2; Gowing 7; Nelson 5; Crow 15; Ostrander 2; Yeager 0; Manning 12; Keiser 0; Lagrange 0; Totals: 15-3-4 – 43
DELTA 11 18 10 13 – 52
SWANTON 13 6 12 12 – 43
JUNIOR VARSITY: Delta 17, Swanton 15
