The Pinckneyville Panthers, playing their fifth game in four days, edged out Herrin 45-43 in overtime Thursday night to capture their first ever Herrin Tournament championship.
“Tonight was really a gut check game for us,” said Pinckneyville coach Alan Engelhardt. “We came out and did a tremendous job of guarding the basketball, pressuring full court for the entire game.”
The Lady Panthers led 5-4 at the end of the first quarter but trailed 15-13 at the intermission.
“In the first half we struggled against their zone, but in the second half we started to hit some shots and played through the zone much better,” added Engelhardt.
Pinckneyville outscored Herrin 13-9 in the third for a 26-24 advantage heading into the fourth.
Herrin battled back in the fourth to outscore the Lady Panthers 15-13 to force the overtime session.
In the final four minutes of play, Pinckneyville outscored Herrin 6-4 for the slim two-point win.
“I am really proud of the girls for finding a way to win,” said Engelhardt. “This is a game I don't think we would have won a couple of weeks ago, but we are figuring out how to defend and how to make plays. That has allowed us to grow a little as a team. We still have quite a bit of work to do, but I like the direction the girls are heading.”
Maddy Keith and Taylor Cicardi each had 14 points to pace Pinckneyville, while Dani Jenkel added 11. Keith and Cicardi were both named to the all-tournament team, with Cicardi being selected as MVP.
With the win, Pinckneyville finished tournament play with a perfect 5-0 record and improved to 12-4 on the season.
Pinckneyville 45, Murphysboro 32
With the game tied at 9-9 at the end of the first quarter, Pinckneyville outscored Murphysboro 14-6 in the second, 11-10 in the third and 11-7 in the fourth for a 45-32 Thursday morning.
“We had a rough start to this game, showing some effects from playing a tough game the night before and this being an earlier morning start,” said Pinckneyville coach Alan Engelhardt. “We tried to sit back a little more defensively, because we had expended so much energy in the previous three games and we knew the evening game would be very difficult, so it took a while for us to get in the flow on defense.
We found it difficult to get into any flow offensively, because every time we started to get a rhythm, we were fouled and didn't shoot free throws very well. Our bench did a great job stepping up and contributing both points and defensive energy to allow us to rest some of the girls who had been playing a lot of minutes.”
Taylor Cicardi finished with 10 points to lead Pinckneyville, while Mo Ramsey added nine.
Pinckneyville 42, Cobden 38
Despite a poor performance from the free throw line, Pinckneyville found a way to knock off Cobden 42-38 Wednesday evening.
“We defended pretty well in the half-court and found a way to gut out a victory,” said Pinckneyville coach Alan Engelhardt. “We didn’t shoot the ball very well from the perimeter and fell apart at the line, going 10-for-27, but because we guarded, we were able to pull one out. Taylor Kuhnert really gave us a boost off the bench, getting us six points in the second quarter when we were really struggling to score.”
Taylor Cicardi finished with 14 points to lead Pinckneyville and Dani Jenkel added 10.