JERSEYVILLE - The Jersey Panthers girl's basketball team is having a great turnaround season. After a 9-20 campaign last season, they find themselves sitting at 12-7 overal so far this year, riding a now five-game win streak.
Thursday night the Panthers picked up a huge Mississippi Valley Conference win over Triad by a score of 48-45. The Knights made a late fourth-quarter push but Jersey was able to hold them at bay.
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"We'll take it," Panthers' head coach Ron Twitchell said postgame. "That's the first conference win we've had in two years. So, I'm proud of the girls. They hung tough."
The game was tied at 10 after the first quarter and then the Panthers began to grow a lead. They led 25-19 at the half and 36-29 after three quarters.
The Knights outscored Jersey 16-12 in the fourth and even took the lead multiple times. Triad led 38-37 with just under four minutes remaining and then again at 42-41 with 1:24 left.
They continued to lead 45-43 before a clutch shot from Jersey.
Freshman Cali Breeden got the ball on the next possession and put in a three-pointer with 15 seconds left on the clock. The shot regained the lead for Jersey at 46-45.
After being fouled, senior Cate Breeden made both free throws to put the game away.
Scoring came from a lot of places Thursday night for the Panthers, something coach Twitchell was happy about.
"That's what we want, he said. "We want more people to score. That's going to make life a lot easier for us."
Jersey had three players score in double digits. Freshman Meredith Gray led with 14 points followed by junior Tessa Crawford with 12 and Cate Breeden with 11.
Cali Breeden had six, sophomore Ella Smith had four, and senior Bria Tuttle had one.
The win makes five in a row now for Jersey after winning the Duchesne Tournament, beating Soldan and now Triad.
"I'm happy for the girls, really happy for them," Twitchell said about his team's success as of late.
The Panthers will be back in action tomorrow afternoon when they host the Carrollton Hawks. That game has a 1 p.m. tip-off.
