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HARLAN – An inexperienced team is bound to have some tough outings, much like what Creston had Tuesday night against Harlan in a 58-37 loss.
After two impressive wins the prior week, the Panthers opened their game against the Cyclones with just two buckets in the first half. A tally that resulted in a mere five points heading into the locker room.
Head coach Britt Roberts knew turnovers were going to be a sticking point for her young squad before the season and that quickly became the case early.
Creston committed 17 turnovers in the first half and trailed 34-5 at the break.
“We had 17 turnovers in the first half. It’s pretty tough to score any points with that many turnovers,” said Roberts. “We weren’t hitting any of our shots and we had 20-something shots in the first half and obviously didn’t hit but two of them.”
While the loss is something Roberts and company want to move on from, she admitted it’s not a game the Panthers should be too quick to forget.
“I just said, ‘We need to learn from this and move on, but if we don’t take it as a learning experience, then we’re really not going to draw any positives from it,’” said Roberts.
One of the biggest positives Roberts found was her team’s ability to still play competitive basketball in the second half.
“They came out and took the challenges that I put in front of them at halftime,” said Roberts. “They came out and executed those things so that was good to see, but it was a disappointing game. But there were some positives to draw from the second half.”
One of the things most evident in the second half was the relaxed play of the Panthers.
Harlan plays a similar style of basketball to what Creston practices and the Panthers ended up outscoring the Cyclones 32-24 in the second half.
“It was interesting because that was the gameplay the whole time. It was almost like we had to be down and relax to play ball like we know how to play,” Roberts said.
Brielle Baker was once again the Panthers’ leading scorer, finishing the contest with 18 points.
According to Roberts, a Panther team that looked scared in the first half settled and adjusted to run its style of play, effectively in the second half.
Creston only turned the ball over twice in the second half.
UP NEXT – Creston (3-2) plays its third straight road game against Kuemper Catholic, a team that Roberts admits will give them some issues.
“We’re going to have to come out and be on our ‘A’ game, but we’re inexperienced so we’re pretty Jekyll & Hyde right now. So I’m just hoping that the right one shows up,” said Roberts.
The Panthers tip off against the Knights Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Running score by quarter
Har (58) – 18 34 47 58
Crest (37) – 2 5 17 37
Crest (FG FT PTS) — Totals — 15 3-7 37. Brielle Baker 7 3-5 18, Kelsey Fields 4 0-2 8, Sydney Hartsock 1 0-0 3, Kesia Stewart 1 0-0 3, Sam Dunphy 1 0-0 3, Peyton Rice 1 0-0 2. 3-point goals — 4 (Hartsock 1, Baker 1, Stewart 1, Dunphy 1). Assists — 9 (Breanna Wallace 4, Cayla Maitlen 1, Taylor Buxton 1, Grace Root 1, Stewart 1, Rice 1). Rebounds — 41 (Fields 11, Baker 8, Maitlen 5, Dunphy 3, Stewart 2, Rice 2, Wallace 1, Megan Haley 1). Steals 6 (Fields 2, Baker 1, Root 1, Wallace 1, Rice 1). Team fouls — 22. Fouled out — None.