Panthers let late lead slip away
SHENANDOAH — After battling back from a slow start, the Creston girls basketball team let a late lead slip away in a 38-36 loss to Shenandoah here on Monday.
The Panthers slip to 2-5 for the season and 0-3 in Hawkeye 10 Conference play. Shenandoah improves to 3-4 and 1-1.
Creston trailed 10-5 after the first quarter and 15-14 at halftime, but battled back to take a 26-25 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
“We actually held a three-point lead with about four minutes to go,” head coach Larry McNutt said. “Then they went on a little 4-0 run, so we were down one with three to go. Then it was tied or we were up one, down one the last three minutes.”
Tied at 36-36, the Panthers had a chance to take the lead, but missed a shot from inside the paint.
Shenandoah got the rebound and went down the floor to score the go-ahead basket, making the score 38-36.
Creston had a chance to tie or win the game, but with just :06 left in the game need to move the ball the length of the court, and was not able to get a shot off.
Sophomore Natalie Mostek finished the game with a double-double for the Panthers, scoring 14 points and pulling down 10 rebounds. Junior Zaidy Frank added eight points and eight rebounds.
Defense
A bright spot for the Panthers in the loss was the way the defense played, especially against a tough pair in the low post.
Shenandoah sophomores Serena Parker and Sydney Nielsen came into the game averaging a combined 23 points per game, but the Panthers held the tandem to just 13 points.
“We did pretty well,” McNutt said. “We held one of them to nine points and the other to four, so our post defense was pretty good tonight. We just didn’t shoot very well. We had two points with two minutes to go in the first quarter. It’s tough to start a game that way.
“The whole first half we really struggled with shooting. We shot better the second half. If we can shoot better in the first half, then we can probably have a little bit of a lead there in the second half when things start to get tight. I thought all the girls really gave a good effort on the defensive end. We just had trouble scoring.”
Creston hosts Harlan (4-0, 2-0) at 6 p.m. Friday as part of a boys and girls varsity doubleheader.
SHENANDOAH (38) — Breanna Allely 10, Serena Parker 9, Jaime Runyon 9, Sydney Nielsen 4, Abby Wiegel 4, Jordan Major 2.
CRESTON (36) — Natalie Mostek 14, Zaidy Frank 8, Brenna Baker 5, Emma Johnson 4, Chelcee Downing 3, Brianna Maitlen 2. Rebounds — Natalie Mostek 10, Frank 8, Maitlen 8, Downing 3. Assists — Maitlen 3, Downing 2, Baker 2. Steals — Downing 2.
Shenandoah — 10 15 25 38
Creston — 5 14 26 36
JUNIOR VARSITY
The Creston girls junior varsity improved to 3-2 for the season with a 76-30 win at Shenandoah on Monday.
Jenna Taylor led the Panthers with 18 points and seven rebounds, including a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line. Taylor Briley and Sadie Jones each finished with 14 points, while Alli Thomsen chipped in 13.
Briley finished with a team-high seven steals, while Thomsen and Jones each collected five. Thomsen led the team with five assists.
“The girls came out strong and played well in all four quarters,” Creston JV coach Mendy McCreight said. “We have been struggling with this, and I was very pleased to finally take care of all the little things and have a great night through all four quarters.”
CRESTON (76) — Jenna Taylor 18, Taylor Briley 14, Sadie Jones 14, Alli Thomsen 13, Brooke Thelen 7, Maria Mostek 4, Camryn Somers 4, Caitlin McIlravy 2. Rebounds — 28 (Taylor 7, Jones 6, Thomsen 5, Thelen 3). Steals — 26 (Briley 7, Thomsen 5, Jones 5). Assists — 16 (Thomsen 5, Taylor 3, Maria Mostek 3). Team fouls — 9. Fouled out — none.
SHENANDOAH (30)
