(December 2nd, 2014) – DELTA: A tough second quarter destroyed any chance the Junior Varsity Lady Blackbirds had at defeating Delta on the Panthers’ home court.
After keeping close to their North Western Ohio Athletic League host in the first period, thanks in large part to an impressive defensive performance, the travelers from Pettisville saw the Lady Panthers open up offensively, racking up 19 points. Trailing by just 3 points after the first quarter, the Blackbirds went into the half down 27-11.
Pettisville came out of halftime determined to work their way back into the contest. They held the potent Delta offense to just 4 points in the third stanza, scoring 8 themselves to cut into the home team’s lead. It wouldn’t last, however, as the Lady Panthers bounced back in the fourth quarter, pulling away from the Pettisville girls on their way to a 45-26 win.
It was Jaelyn Rufenacht who led the Lady Blackbirds in scoring. The junior put up 11 points in the team’s losing effort. On the other side of the court, the Blackbird defense allowed two players to take over the game. Lady Panther Emily Clifton led all scorers with 21 points, while Mary Miller offered 13 points to the Delta cause.
Delta was also able to shoot the ball with precision. They managed a 46% shooting percentage against the Lady Blackbird defense. That accuracy didn’t translate to the free throw line, though, as the hometown Panthers were just 30% from the charity stripe. Pettisville was slightly better at the line, managing a 42% success rate.
Both rebounds and turnovers were nearly even in the contest. Pettisville narrowly won the rebounding battle, pulling down 36 boards as a team, compared to Delta’s 32. The Lady Blackbirds were quite careless with the ball, committing 19 turnovers. Of course, the Lady Panthers weren’t much better, turning the ball over 16 times themselves.