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Imbler girls dominate state opener
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Imbler filtered players in and out of a 56-34 win against Hosanna Christian in the opening round of the state playoffs. Eight players totaled at least 13 minutes, and the Panthers sent 11 players onto the hardwood. The Lions’ starters spent a majority of the time on the floor. Macey Chronister ate up the rest of the minutes off the bench. “We picked up our energy and our defensive intensity in the second quarter,” Imbler head coach Barry Bowers said. “The girls forced a lot of turnovers. We made transition baskets off those. It’s typical for us to get a lot from our bench players. You could see tongues hanging. “(Hosanna Christian) was getting tired.” Hosting a first round game makes a huge difference — especially when the opponent travels eight hours. A sea of orange filled the bleachers. The “de-fense” chant brought out the best of the Panthers’ play. Imbler used a 23-8 second quarter to open up the game. “It’s big to play at home,” sophomore guard Reva West said. “We feel like we play better here.” Of the Panthers’ 28 first half points, 13 were scored by the bench. Madeline Nilsson led Imbler with seven points off the bench during the game. The Panthers finished the game with 24 points off the bench. Hosanna Christian received zero points from its bench in the first half, and in the game. “We take a lot of pride in what we do,” West said, who led the Panther bench with five first half points. “It’s tough for teams to keep up with all of us. We play pretty even minutes.” A slight drop off in intensity opened the door for a scant Lions’ run. Hosanna Christian pulled to within 12 points after trailing 36-18 early in the third quarter. Blame it on those rambunctious fans. The jumping, shouting and cheering turned into what sounded like a silence contest. West motioned to the student section to stop talking about post-game plans and focus on the game. “You could hear the silence in the game,” West said. “When it’s that noticeable the silence gets too loud.” While the Imbler offense dropped off the defense stayed steady. The Panthers used an 18-8 fourth quarter to put the finishing touches on a defensive showcase. The Lions scored 21 of its 34 points off turnovers. “I thought our defense was outstanding tonight,” Bowers said. “Especially in our half-court game we hurried there shots and didn’t give them second chances. It’s the best we played in a half-court defense in a while. I was really pleased.” Katie Griffin paced Imbler with 12 points. Imbler plays at St. Paul at 6 p.m. Friday. HOSANNA CHRISTIAN (34) Crawford 0 0-0 0, Anderson 2 3-5 7, Shaw 2 0-1 4, Barnes 0 0-0 0, Keppinger 0 0-0 0, Matchett 2 3-3 11, Ronnander 2 4-8 9, Chronister 0 0-0 0,Howard 0 0-0 0, Anderson 0 0-0 0, Matchett 0 0-0 0, Justman 1 1-2 3. Totals 10 11-19 34. IMBLER (56) Griffin 2 7-9 12, Bigej 1 0-1 2, Eckstein 2 1-3 7, Poe 0 1-2 1, Bowers 3 4-4 10, West 1 2-5 5, Nilsson 3 1-3 7, Bowers 1 0-0 2, Anthony 1 0-0 2, Thompson 2 0-0 6, Dewey 1 0-2 2. Totals 19 16-31 56. Hosanna Christian 7 8 11 8 - 34 Imbler 5 23 10 18 - 56 3-point goals: HC, Matchett 2, Ronnander; Imbler, Griffin, West. |
