By Dennis Bowling
Manteno Coach Bethany Stritar has a very competitive team. Sometimes, the Panthers will have an off night, and that occurred against Reed-Custer on January 12. Manteno got off to a slow start, missed many shots, and made a disappointing 27 turnovers in the contest.
The true bright spot for Manteno was senior Katherine Gaffney, a 5’-7” forward, who had a team-high eight points and five rebounds, when Reed-Custer beat Manteno, 32-24, in Illinois Central Eight Conference play in Manteno.
In the first half, Reed-Custer zoomed away to a 19-7 lead. By the close of the third quarter, the Comets owned a 26-16 advantage.
“We just could not put the ball in the basket,” said Stritar. “We made 27 turnovers, then they converted our turnovers into baskets.”
“Katherine just kept battling through the adversity,” she said. “She played a physical game and was taking it to them – playing with a lot of heart.”
Gaffney, a two-sport standout, summarized the Panthers play, “While we were down in the first quarter, we never gave up. We have to come out and play stronger and need to learn to play through the tough times. Things don’t always go our way.”
Manteno sophomore Macy Iwanus, a 5’-6” guard, finished with four points.
“Macy is an athlete and is learning to play at the varsity level,” said Stritar. “She still makes sophomore mistakes, but she is strong when she is taking the ball to the basket and is an intense player.”
“Bad games do happen,” said Iwanus. “We have to push through as a team. We lost the game and have to forget about it.”
“We have a talented team,” she continued. “Katherine is a team player and works hard.”
Manteno sophomore Ava Peterson, who has a very bright future with the Panthers basketball program, had a trey and a basket, for five points.
“Ava will just never let adversity stop her from playing hard,” said Stritar. “She was able to handle their pressure defense, while her shot is coming along.”
“We were able to come back in the fourth quarter,” Peterson remarked. “Katherine always finds a way to hit her shots, but our shots were just not falling. We didn’t hang our heads, though.”
To start the fourth quarter, with the game on the line, the Panthers rallied with baskets from Iwanus and Peterson, which cut the Comets lead to 26-21. A pair of Gaffney free throws cut the Reed-Custer margin to 26-23.
After that, the Comets outscored the Panthers by a 6-1 count for the win.
In the junior varsity contest, Reed-Custer beat Manteno, 37-26. Lila Prindeville led the Panthers with 17 points, Emily Horath had six, and Alyssa Singleton finished with three.