Lady Panthers Cruise to Win over Fox

Mehlville junior Sierra Gray was not in the starting lineup Friday night in her team's game against Fox.

But she made the most of her time on the court when she came in. Gray personally outscored the entire Fox team in the first half as the Panthers defeated the Warriors 44-24 at Mehlville.

"I just wanted to come in and work hard and try to help the team in whatever way I could," Gray said.

She provided some much needed offense in a game in which both teams struggled to score early on.

Fox had a four-point lead early in the first quarter and the score was tied 9-9 after the first quarter.

But Gray's offense, coupled with a suffocating Mehlville defense, turned the game around in the second quarter.

Gray scored eight points in the quarter while Fox was held scoreless for the entire quarter.

The Panthers were aggressive on both ends of the floor. On one possession, they scored on their fifth offensive rebound.

"We did a better job of crashing the boards tonight," Mehlville coach Laura Bishop said. "And I thought we were scrappier on defense. We were a lot more aggressive off the ball and did a good job fighting for loose balls."

Fox came out strong to start the second half, scoring six points in the first two and a half minutes to cut the Panther lead to 21-15.

But the Warriors, who did not score in double figures in any of the four quarters, managed just nine points the rest of the way.

Mehlville's Elle Anderson hit a 3-pointer in the final seconds of the third quarter to give her team a 32-17 lead.

Fox again started a quarter strong, scoring the first two baskets of the fourth quarter. But it was all Mehlville the rest of the way.

Gray had 16 points to lead the Panthers. But seven other Mehlville players scored. Maddie Gollihur had eight points.

"We seem to be our best when our scoring is well-rounded and that was the case tonight," Bishop said.

Nikki Fleischman had six points to lead the way for Fox.