Sports
Parkway South Girls Put Pressure on Mehlville
Parkway South's defensive pressure overwhelms Mehlville in the Patriots' 62-41 Suburban West Conference victory.
The Parkway South girls varsity basketball team overwhelmed Mehlville on Tuesday in a 62-41 win. The Suburban West Conference game was a battle to see which team could remain in the top half of the league standings.
The Patriots’ tough defense regularly includes a game-long, full-court press and its effectiveness showed against Mehlville (7-11, 1-2 Suburban West). The Patriots created a high-volume of turnovers, including several steals.
“If we don’t play defense well, we don’t usually score on offense,” stated Parkway South head coach Thomas Williams.
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“We have multiple defenses and the girls communicated them well,” said Williams, adding that he thought his girls brought a lot of intensity and shot the ball with confidence.
A fast-paced first quarter ended with Parkway South (8-5, 2-0 Suburban West) leading, 15-9. Only two Panthers, sophomore guard Sierra Gray and senior forward Jessica Fox, scored the entire period. By the end of the second quarter, Parkway South had increased its lead to nine points.
Although the Patriots focused on intense defense, they were unable to shut down Gray in the first half. Gray scored several mid-range jumpers and mixed in a few layups, giving her 14 of her team-high 18 points in the half.
Fox had much success in the paint, chipping in with 12 points. Senior guard Chanese Washington added two 3-pointers, but the Panthers’ offense remained sluggish all night.
Mehlville really suffered in the third quarter when Washington was called for a charge after a made jump shot. The Patriots held the Panthers to eight points in the third quarter while they scored 18 points to increase their lead to 50-32.
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“We were great in spurts,” said Mehlville head coach Laura Bishop. “It’s not a case of effort. It’s a case of execution on offense and defense.”
Parkway South senior guard Jordan Anthony was all over the floor on defense, and also scored 12 points. Junior guard Natalie Williams came alive in the second half, scoring eight of her team-high 13 points. Senior guard Katie Hoener added 10 points and sophomore forward Becca Steins and senior guard Katie Alexander each scored eight points.
Parkway South will play at Fox (4-9) on Friday, Jan. 21 at 7 p.m. in another conference game.