On Tuesday night the Ladies from Annapolis, MO made a statement to their competition. Just try us.
The South Iron Lady Panthers traveled to Arcadia Valley and promptly showed the Tigers just how dangerous they can be, as they rattled off their 15th consecutive victory. They moved to 17-1 on the season after trouncing AV 70-22, and look virtually unbeatable at this point.
Instituting an early press at the start of the game befuddled the Tigers and led to many, many transition buckets, which built a huge first-quarter lead for the Panthers. After the first eight minutes they found themselves up by 20, having allowed just four points. Anna Parker led the charge with nine points and hit a big bucket from downtown.
The second quarter wouldn’t offer the Tigers any relief, as South Iron continued to pour it on. Madison Ayers connected from beyond the arc and had five points in the quarter, while Drew Gayle, Enzley Dinkins and Parker each chipped in with four points. That gave the Panthers a substantial 45-10 lead at the half.
Things didn’t slow down after the break either. Dinkins went off for nine points and three other Panthers hit three-pointers to put up 23 in the quarter and extend their lead in grand fashion. The Tigers managed eight points, their highest total of the game, but it was a far cry from even sniffing at a comeback.
Up 68-18, South Iron felt fairly comfortable with their lead, to say the least, and decided to take a back seat in the final eight minutes. The gave the bench some time and rested their starters, leading to a 4-2 frame in favor of Arcadia Valley. There were no alarms and no surprises as the Panthers sealed the deal in the fourth with a 70-22 victory.
South Iron created 28 turnovers in this one, which exponentially contributed to the blowout win. Parker and Dinkins shared the lead with 19 points apiece and Ayers rounded out the top scorers with 12 of her own. As a team the Panthers hit six threes, which was a welcome change as they had struggled the past few games with outside shooting.
Things won’t get any easier though, as South Iron will face their toughest test of the season on Saturday when they take on the Vashon Wolverines. An established and exponentially talented program from a much, much larger talent pool will be no easy task for the girls from Annapolis.
But they welcome the challenge just the same… and it should be a wild one.
Tipoff is at noon on Saturday in Annapolis.
Good luck Panthers!
