Athenians and Mounties fall in girls basketball

Crawfordsville battled tough, but fell at home to Riverton Parke 50-48 on Thursday evening as the girls basketball regular season begins to wind down. Both teams came into the game looking to build some momentum as the Panthers came in winless at 0-18, while the Athenians came into the contest with a record of 2-15. “We knew coming into this game that it was going to be a tough one,” said Crawfordsville coach Tony Bean. “We came into this game knowing we needed a W bad”. Panther senior guard Grace Pharr sank a 3-pointer in the opening seconds of the game, but she was unable to duplicate it in the Panthers next possession, which led to a contested lay-in by Athenian Oliva Barnett. Pharr was able to recover with a floater for two in the Panthers next possession, and the Athenians came up empty in their following possession, which resulted in a Riverton Parke second chance basket from Mackenzie Schermann. Adding another triple in the quarter was Maycee York for the Athenians. The Panthers led the Athenians 17-11 at the end of one. The second quarter saw a red-hot Athenian team that watched Peyton Sinnet score five points, including a wide-open 3-pointer with two minutes to go in the quarter. Crawfordsville outscored Riverton Parke 18-10 in the second quarter, and they took the lead into the locker room over the Panthers 29-27. Barnett sank her first three to open the quarter for the Athenians, while Clapp was able to make her second 3-pointer of the night. Olivia Reed got her first points in the game with a trey of her own, while the Panthers Britany App led the Panthers in scoring with four points, both from contested lay-ins. The Athenians led the Panthers 41-35 after the third quarter, with Red and Barnett leading the way with their 3-pointers, respectively. The fourth quarter was a classic barn-burner that went back and forth the whole period. Pharr added yet another triple to her resume in the game, making it three for the evening. The next 4-of-5 points for the Athenians in the quarter came from heavily-contested lay-ins. Riverton Parke’s Schermann led the way for the Panthers in the fourth with seven points in a decisive quarter in which the Panthers were able to edge out the Athenians. In the closing seconds, the Athenians went cold from the free throw line, which was the determining factor in the game. Riverton Parke picked up their first win of the season as Crawfordsville falls to 2-16 on the season. “We were not focused on guarding their threats,” said Bean. “We let Pharr go off for 9 or 10 points real quick, and as a team they came ready to battle. They were in need of a win as bad as we did.” The Athenians are back in action Tuesday as they face Covington. “We played Covington to start of the season in our scrimmage, so we are a little familiar with them, but we know that game is going to be a fight and we need to come out ready to battle,” said coach Bean. Southmont traveled to Attica on Thursday night, falling to the Red Ramblers 47-39. “We played pretty well,” Mounties coach Dustin Oakley said. “Disappointed, but much better than Tuesday.” Southmont held Attica leading scorer Naomi McDaniel to just two field goals, but the 6-foot senior scored 8 of her 12 points at the free throw line. Karissa Pluimer, the Red Ramblers other 6-footer led all scorers with 16 points. Addi Charles led the Mounties with 14, including four 3-pointers, while Lilly Ward chipped in 12. Southmont falls to 4-11 on the season, and will be back in action against another Wabash River Conference foe in Seeger tonight at home at 6 p.m.