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In the hunt for respectability the SWAL game between Iowa-Grant and Darlington Friday was a big game.
The fact that the Panthers won the game 50-42 made it even bigger.
"If I am correct this puts us in the upper half of the division," said coach Craig Jenkins who has been steering the Panthers in that direction since last season. "We knew what was at stake so we approached this as a big game."
As with most big games this one had all the qualities of a nail-biter. The Panthers trailed by three after the first quarter, cut it to one at the half then took a two point lead with them into the final frame.
That set up a real showdown with senior guard Taylor Jackson leading the way for the Panthers and sophomore Taryn Rankin who was leading scorer for the Redbirds for the game.
Jackson knocked down eight of her nine points in the final quarter with senior Kylie Moneypenny getting five of her 13 and sophomore Emma Liddicoat four of her eight.
Jenkins said a three point play converted by Moneypenny in the fourth quarter was a huge momentum changer.
Rankin had six of her 12 in the final frame for Darlington and Callie Norton added four.
But, the Redbirds could not catch the Panthers who outscored them 19-13 down the stretch.
Jenkins zoned the Redbirds last time the two teams played and Norton spent the night finding the gaps and hitting her shots. This time he went after the Redbirds in a man to man.
"We did a good job with it," Jenkins said. "We turned in a very solid fourth quarter."
He felt the unselfish play by the Panthers helped get them the win.
"I was very happy with how we shared the basketball and got eight girls into the scoring column," he said.
"Taylor Jackson was outstanding the fourth quarter," Jenkins said, adding that the Panthers executed very well in the half court and in transition.
The only area that concerned the IG coach was the performance at the free throw line.
"We got there but we were only 11 for 21," Jenkins said. "But that is something we can correct in practice."
The Panthers are now tied for fourth place in the SWAL with Boscobel at 4-5.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
IG 7 14 10 19 50
D 10 12 7 13 42
BOX SCORE
IOWA-GRANT 50: (fg-ft-tp) Richards 3-0-6, Moneypenny 5-3-13, Wernimont 0-0-0, Ginter 1-1-3, Grimm 1-0-2, Roth 2-0-4, Liddicoat 3-2-8, Yelinek 2-0-5, Jackson 2-5-9, Stanton 0-0-0 Totals 19-11/21-50 Fouls-15 Fouled out-Moneypenny
DARLINGTON 42: Norton 3-2-8, Komprood 1-0-2, Fitzsimons 1-0-2, T. Rankin 6-0-12, McDaniel 0-0-0, Hinderman 0-0-0, Wiegel 2-0-6, K. Rankin 0-2-2, Cox 3-2-8, Jacobson 2-0-4 Totals 17-6/12-42 Fouls-22
3 point goals:
IG-Yelinek
D-Wiegel 2