Peotone: On Monday, January 9, the Blue Devils lost a tough one on the road to Dwight, 56-60. The Devils came out flat and were down 14-3 at the start. Eventually, they came back and actually took the lead, but just never quite settled in the whole night, turning the ball over way too much.
On the night, Lucas Gesswein had 19 points and 8 rebounds, Miles Hefflin added 18 points and 8 rebounds, while Brandon Weiss finished with 17 points. The Devils are now 9-7 overall and 4-2 in the ICE.
Manteno: Monday, January 9, the Lady Panthers were on the road to face conference foe Wilmington and squeaked out a win, 50-47.
Wilmington was hot behind the arc, shooting nearly 50 percent in the first half (6/13). After being down 5-14 at the end of the first, the Panthers were able to win the next three quarters to come back and defeat the Wildcats.
On the night, Katherine Gaffney had 14 points (4/8 FG, 1/1 Trey, 5/6 FT), 6 rebounds, and 3 steals, Kylie Saathoff recorded 9 points and 5 rebounds, while Sara Schmidt added 8 points, and Grace Sundeen finished with 6. Junior Sydney Sosnowski led in rebounds with 8, plus had 8 assists and 5 points
Then on Tuesday, January 10, the girls’ varsity team pulled out another non-conference win against Grace Christian, 44-41. Coach Bethany Stritar was very proud of how the Panthers battled through some adversity.
In the game, Katherine Gaffney led with 13 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 steals, Grace Sundeen added 12 points, 4 assists, and 5 rebounds, while Kylie Saathoff contributed 7 rebounds, and Sydney Sosnowski 4 steals.
The freshmen also played Coal City on Tuesday, winning their game 23-15. Emily Horath led the team with 8 points.
On Thursday, January 12, in a low-scoring home conference against Reed-Custer, Manteno lost to Reed-Custer, 24-32. The Lady Panthers were at a field goal low shooting 22 percent (8/36) on the night. The Panthers were not alone, though. Except for the first quarter, when Reed-Custer recored 14 points, neither Manteno nor Reed-Custer recorded scores in double digits for the remaining three stanzas.
On the night, Katherine Gaffney had 8 points and 6 rebounds, Ava Peterson recorded 6 points along with 5 rebounds, while Kylie Saathoff finished with 4 points and 6 rebounds. The Lady Panthers stand at 11-8 overall and 4-4 in ICE.