Panthers survive foul fest for 'Pink Out' win

Maybe Larry McNutt should have arranged for a pledge "per foul" at his Coaches vs. Cancer "Pink Out" event Friday night in the Creston High School gym.

As it was, the promotion generated more than $4,000 in sponsorships and pink shirt revenue sales for the American Cancer Society. But, it took a while for the Panthers' 58-47 victory over Shenandoah to play out, as the 32 minutes of "action" included 52 turnovers and 44 total fouls — 25 in the first half alone — as Creston converted 27 of 46 free throw attempts. Shenandoah was 11-of-22.

Madison Frain was the Panther leader at the line, sinking 8-of-11, and scored a game-high 22 points. Creston built a lead as large as 21 points (45-24) after a 17-4 third quarter.

Audrey Bolinger added 11 points for the Panthers, who improved to 5-9 overall and 4-5 in the Hawkeye 10. Shenandoah fell to 6-9 and 3-6.

"We had a good third quarter," McNutt said. "The first half was just tough. There were so many fouls called. It was hard to get into any type of groove in the first half. We hung in there, though, and got a good conference win."

Going into the game, McNutt felt the Mustangs were improving, and he expected a tougher challenge than the Panthers' 64-36 victory at Shenandoah in December. It didn't help that starting point guard Katlin Briley picked up three fouls in the first half, and Brianna Miatlen and Audrey Bolinger each had two.

Joined by reserves from the JV ranks, Frain and Bolinger kept victory hopes afloat with strong first halves — Frain netted 12 points and Bolinger eight in the opening 16 minutes as Creston moved in front, 26-18. Turnovers and frequent foul whistles prevented any sense of flow to the game at that point.

But the Panthers improved on both ends of the court after the break, moving out to a 43-22 lead by the end of the third period. Briley and Maitlen collected steals on successive possessions, and Haines dropped in a 3-pointer for a 16-point bulge (37-21) five minutes into the second half.

Shenandoah, meanwhile, continued to encounter foul trouble with six violations in six minutes, leading to an early bonus opportunity for the Panthers.

Zaidy Frank's three-point play of the conventional variety — free throw after a short-range basket — made it a 21-point game at 43-22. Continuing to press against Creston reserves as McNutt gave several players time on the floor in the special event, Shenandoah was able to cut the margin to as low as nine (56-47) with under a minute to play.

Creston moves into a busy week, hosting Harlan Tuesday before a long road trip to Denison Friday, and returning home for a non-conference matchup with Norwalk Saturday night.

SHENANDOAH (47) — Serena Parker 17, Jourdan Perkins 7, Emily Ray 6, Breanna Allely 5, Sidney Nielsen 4, Haley Lembrick 3, Jaime Runyon 2, Mackenzie Johnson 1. Totals — 17 11-22 47. FG shooting — 17-40 (42.5 percent). 3-point goals — 0-3. Steals — 9. Rebounds — 22. Turnovers — 27. Team fouls — 24. Fouled out — Allely.

CRESTON (58) — Madison Frain 22, Audrey Bolinger 11, Katlin Briley 6, Maddie Haines 6, Zaidy Frank 5, Brianna Maitlen 2, Abbey Bakerink 2, Brenna Baker 2, Natalie Mostek 2. Totals — 16 27-46 58. FG shooting — 15-48 (31.2 percent). 3-point goals — 1-8 (Haines 1). Rebounds — 34 (Frain 9, N. Mostek 7, Maitlen 6, Haines 5). Assists — 8 (Bolinger 2, Frain 2, Baker 2). Steals — 7 (Frain 3, Bolinger 2). Blocked shots — 0. Turnovers — 25. Team fouls — 20. Fouled out — None.

Shenandoah — 5 18 22 47

Creston — 13 26 43 58

JUNIOR VARSITY

Creston outscored Shenandoah 23-12 in the second half to lock up a 57-39 junior varsity win Friday.

Zaidy Frank scored 16 points and collected five rebounds and two steals for Creston (6-8). Haylee LaMasters added eight points and eight rebounds, and Chelcee Downing finished with nine points, five assists and three steals. Emma Johnson added a pair of 3-pointers in an eight-point night.

"It was far from a perfect performance, but I thought the girls played hard," coach Ryan McKim said. "I challenged them to play better defense in the second half and thought we guarded much better in the final two quarters."

Creston (57) — Zaidy Frank 16, Chelcee Downing 9, Haylee LaMasters 8, Emma Johnson 8, Olivia Nielsen 6, Brenna Baker 4, Natalie Mostek 4, Emily Wignall 2. 3-point goals — 2-5 (Johnson 2). Free throws — 7-17. Rebounds — LaMasters 8, Frank 6, Baker 3, Nielsen 3. Steals — Downing 3, Frank 3, Mostek 2. Assists — Downing 5, Baker 3, Johnson 2. Team fouls — 15. Turnovers — 16. Halftime score — Creston 34, Shenandoah 27.

Shenandoah (39) — Nina Granz 9, Jordan Major 8, Jaime Runyon 6, Ciera Hoyt 5, Abby Wiegel 4, Yessenia Barbosa 4, Heidi Fichter 3. 3-point goals — Major 1, Fichter 1, Granz 1. Free throws — 6-17. Team fouls — 18.