Panhandle was able to shake off a slow shooting start, but thanks to a stingy defensive effort, the Ettes were able to pick things up and run away from Abernathy for a convincing 61-39 win during a UIL Class 2A Division I regional quarterfinal matchup at the Joe Lombard Gymnasium on Tuesday night at Canyon High School.
The Ettes are now an eye-opening 34-1 overall on the year while knocking off the Lady Antelopes (26-9) for a second straight season in this same round. Panhandle will now battle Ropes (23-11) in the regional semifinal round at a time and place to be determined.
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“We didn’t play our best,” Panhandle head coach Rob Schmucker said. “We struggled to shoot the ball, and we need to play better going forward, but this win means we survived and advanced. We get to play another round.”
Abernathy was up 10-9 after a very shaky first quarter for the Ettes. Panhandle came out cold going 4-of-19 in the first quarter alone and 1-of-9 from beyond the arc.
It was the second quarter where the Ettes finally started picking things up. With just under five minutes to play and trailing 11-10, Aliah Zundt made a layup, the Ettes then forced a turnover, which resulted in a Riley Segura 3-pointer making it 15-11. On the ensuing offensive possession down the floor, Ell Robinson made a layup and there was a spark at 17-11.
Panhandle wasn’t done.
Paige Bixby and Evan Shadid buried back-to-back 3-pointers and Robinson scored once more, as the Ettes closed the half on a 14-1 run take a 25-12 halftime lead into the break.
On top of the offensive burst, the Ettes defense was suffocating in that second quarter, holding Abernathy without a field goal, and only two points.
“When your offensive is struggling sometimes you need your defense to be that spark,” Schmucker said. “We had to step up after that first quarter. Our defense has created offense for us all year, and we did it again in this win. Going into the half with a 13-point lead and in that way is always helpful when it comes to momentum. We did not shoot well in the first half so for us to get going and also hold them was a great way to go into halftime.”
Segura echoed her coaches comment.
“We’ve had some slow starts, Segura said. “We’ve just tried to lean on one another like we have all year. The defense started getting stops, and that really got us going on offense. We really clamped down on defense, especially in the second quarter.”
Panhandle got off to a fast third quarter going on a 6-0 run behind another Bixby 3-ball and an Addison McCoid jumper. From there, Panhandle was able to put the game on cruise control and pull away for the lopsided win.
Bixby started slow, but finished the game with four of the Ettes eight, 3-pointers on the night to finish with a team-high 12 points.
“I just had to have the confidence to keep shooting,” Bixby said. “I couldn’t buy a bucket in the first half, but I had to stay confident and the shots would eventually come. My teammates did such a great job of getting offensive rebounds and getting us shooters second chances and we were finally able to get the shots going from the outside. Our defense helped the offense get going.”
McCoid and Robinson and Allie Ashley followed Bixby with eight points and Segura added seven.
Despite the loss, Abernathy’s Kendall Miller poured in a game-high 18 points.