BASKETBALL: Lady Panthers reach Regional Final with win over Trico

CAMPBELL HILL, IL - The Lady Panthers put Trico away early at Tuesday's Regional Semifinal and will meet Red Bud in Thursday's championship following their 48-27 win over the tournament host.

Pinckneyville jumped ahead 12-4 after the opening quarter and led 25-12 by the break. A 16-5 third quarter by the Lady Panthers put the game out of reach as only two Trico players found the bottom of the net through 24 minutes of action.

"I thought we really defended well tonight," said Pinckneyville head coach Alan Engelhardt. "Obviously, when only two kids have scored for your opponent though three quarters, you are doing something right. Our pressure really bothered them as we came up with 16 steals and forced 23 total turnovers."

Heather McDaniel led all scorers with 17 points for PCHS, Katelyn Mayer joined her in double figures with 10. Keelyn Stein added 7 points, Alyssa Hirsch 5, Megan Bagley and Haley Simpson 3, Sophie Keith 2 and Dani Schoenbacher 1.

"Heather McDaniel did a great job of setting the tone for us tonight, getting out and guarding and hitting some shots to get us in rhythm," Engelhardt said. "It was good to get 8 girls into the scoring column again, spreading things out to make us difficult to guard."

"I thought Alyssa Hirsch had a gutsy night as well, fighting through some sickness to score 5, pull down 5 rebounds, get 4 steals, and hand out 6 assists. It was also good to see Katelyn Mayer hit a couple of long shots to hopefully get her going again as well."

Pinckneyville (16-13) and Red Bud tip off at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday night in Trico to decide the winner of the Class 2A Trico Regional.

The winner punches their ticket for the Dupo Sectional, beginning on Tuesday, February 12.