Lady Panthers Finally Get it Done With a 52-38 Victory Over Pen Argyl!

Two struggling programs faced off Thursday night in search of a rare victory. Both Pen Argyl and Saucon Valley had an opportunity to climb out of the Colonial League East division basement. The Panthers and Green Knights rolled up their sleeves and went to work on the hardwood. On this night, it would be Saucon Valley that would emerge with the victory.

Thursday’s battle began strangely with the Panthers taking advantage of a technical foul against the Green Knights before the game actually started. Pen Argyl was penalized for incorrectly presenting their starting lineup to the scorer’s table. They seemed to have inadvertently misrepresented their starting five players prior to the contest, which violates PIAA rules. Evidently, a team’s starting lineup must be accurately presented 10 minutes prior to the start of the contest. It was a bizarre beginning to the game.

Anyway, sophomore Olivia Williams was selected by Coach Calabrese to try and convert the free throw penalty for the Panthers. Williams made 1 of the 2 and the Panthers led 1-0 before the game clock actually started. As part of the penalty, the Panthers were also awarded the opening possession in lieu of a jump-ball.

Pen Argyl and Saucon battled back and forth until the 4:22 mark when the Panthers went on a six point run. Helen Krescollek’s two free throws along with Kiele Riefenstahl’s layup and Olivia Williams jump shot at 3:04 helped build a 9-4 Panther lead. Williams then connected for a 3-pointer at 2:17 to put Saucon up 12-6. Panther sophomore Katherine Naiburg then finished the first quarter scoring with a layup giving Saucon Valley a 14-8 advantage. Olivia Williams led the way with 8 Panther points.

The second quarter started with Pen Argyl cutting the Saucon Valley lead to 15-12. But, with about five minutes remaining in the half, Kiele Riefenstahl started a Panther run with a free throw at the 5:06 mark. Saucon junior Helen Kreschollek added a layup that was followed by an Olivia Williams’ jumper. Brooke Riefenstahl then hit a pair of free throws that extended the Saucon lead to 22-12. The Green Knights responded by scoring three unanswered points, but that only lasted until Helen Kreschollek hit a free throw to end the scoring in the second quarter. The Panthers went into the halftime break with a 23-15 lead.

The Green Knights took the floor in the 3rd quarter and were able to cut the Panther lead to 27-21 about halfway into the period. But, that was all the closer they would get. Triggered by Helen Kreschollek’s “and-one” layup the Panthers embarked on a nine point run. Kreschollek and Olivia Williams each converted a pair of free throws and sophomore Katherine Naiburg hit a layup to help build a 36-21 Panther lead with just over two minutes left to play in the third quarter. Pen Argyl tried once again to narrow the Panther margin, but Naiburg closed out the period with another layup making it 38-25 after three quarters of play.

Pen Argyl drew first blood in the final quarter, but the Panthers quickly answered with a layup by Kiele Riefenstahl and a 3-pointer by Olivia Williams to make it 43-27. This gave the Panthers their biggest lead of the game with 6:20 remaining. Junior Shannon Williams along with Kreschollek and Naiburg would add points to maintain the Panther lead as the clock ticked down. Saucon senior Brianna Estojak capped off all scoring with a free throw making the final score 52-38. The Panthers won their first game of the 2016-17 season!

Sophomore Olivia Williams led Saucon Valley scorers with 15 points. Helen Kreschollek had 13 and Katherine Naiburg added 11 for the Panthers.

Pen Argyl sophomore Emma Lohman scored 14 points for the Green Knights. Junior Emily Sutton was good for 7.

Up Next: The Lady Panthers are again at home and will welcome Quakertown Saturday 1:30. They will then continue with a Colonial League home game against Northwestern Lehigh on Monday, Jan. 9.

Good luck Panthers, the Source is with you!