Strong Third Quarter Propels Savages Past Pekin

SIGOURNEY—The Sigourney Savages kicked off their IGHSAU postseason play with a matchup in a familiar foe in the Pekin Panthers on February 8. The Savages secured their second victory of the season over the Panthers, this one by a final score of 70-37.

The Panthers dealt the first blow by jumping out to a 6-0 lead early in the first quarter, but the Savages bounced back with a 10-0 run. Pekin’s Anna Hadley scored in the paint, then Reanae Eubanks knocked down a triple and the Panthers retook the lead at 11-10. 

The second quarter was all Savages, as they out-scored the Panthers 22-10 en route to the 32-21 halftime lead. 

The Savages came out of the half with a determination to dominate the game. The quarter started with a 19-0 run, and ended with the Panthers only scoring three offensive points. Sigourney senior Erin Dawons led the Savages with eight of the team’s 26 total points scored. 

Sigourney Head Coach Schay Moore spoke on the bounce back from her team despite the early hole with, “I thought we came out lackadaisical. We called a timeout and talked to them about how we were getting out-hustled. I told the seniors this is your last opportunity to play on your home court, and I think that fueled quite a few of them, and we started moving the ball a lot better. We got it inside, and that was the big difference.”

Dawson and junior Josephine Moore both lead all scorers with 16 points apiece. Seniors Carly Goodwin and Amiya Smallwood played the main facilitators, as Goodwin led the team with seven and Smallwood tallied six of her own. 

After the game, Dawson described her night with, “Being a senior I really did not want to lose tonight and have my season be over, especially with a home game. This was my last one ever in this gym, and everyone cheering made it so much better. I knew we had to go at them, and if we did, we could out-hustle them.”

Junior Josephine Moore described the team’s switch in the second quarter as, “The thing was in the first quarter we got out-hustled. We came back in the second, and out-hustled them. That is what led to us getting hot.”

The Savages advance to the second round of the IGHSAU Class-1A Region 3 bracket, and will face Melcher-Dallas at Southeast Warren high school.