It had been 661 days since Park Hill South’s girls basketball team lost a regular-season game, but an uncharacteristic performance against St. Teresa’s Academy brought the record-breaking streak to an end.
The Panthers’ 32-game regular season winning streak came crashing to an end on Dec. 15, when they fell in their home-opener against St. Teresa’s Academy by a final score of 37-28.
Shooting the ball 6 of 30 from the floor and 14 of 28 from the free-throw line was not enough to hang with an STA team that hit eight 3-pointers.
The Stars led nearly all night, only trailing after an opening bucket from Park Hill South senior Paige Farber. An 8-1 run for the visitors put them ahead 8-3 before South closed in to make it 11-8 at the end of the first quarter. STA only needed junior Addi Moylan to have the hot hand from deep, scoring three 3-pointers to give the Stars some early momentum.
South’s offensive struggles came to a head when senior star Addison Bjorn, who was 3 of 6 from the line with a bucket in the first quarter and 1 of 6 from the line in the second quarter without making a field goal, briefly exited the game and headed towards the locker room to deal with a physical ailment. Her only assistance offensively was from Farber, who added a single free throw as the Stars used three more triples to outscore the Panthers 13-2 in the second period, carrying a 24-10 lead at halftime.
Park Hill South cut the deficit back to single digits in the second half as a triple from Norah Farber provided support for Bjorn, who went 6 of 8 from the line with a field goal to get the Panthers within five points. The Stars, who had scored just two points all quarter, provided a gutpunch when Moylan hit her fourth triple of the night to put the visitors ahead 29-21 after three quarters.
St. Teresa’s Academy extended its lead back to double-digits with another 3-pointer to begin the fourth quarter. That lead proved mighty to climb back from as the Panthers accepted their fate with a 37-28 defeat on home court.
Bjorn still racked up 18 points and 19 rebounds despite the defeat. The rest of the Panthers squad tallied 15 rebounds and 10 points, shooting 3 of 19 from the floor.
Park Hill South fell to a second consecutive defeat on Dec. 18, when they lost 44-38 against Lafayette in their Holiday Hoops Classic matchup at the St. Joseph Civic Arena.
The Panthers had several leads early in the contest but trailed 12-9 after the first quarter. Another second-quarter slump allowed Lafayette to take a 25-15 lead at halftime.
While South managed to cut the deficit down to single digits once again, Lafayette extended their lead to as much as 13 points in the third, leading 33-23 going into the final frame. The Panthers’ bid for a comeback gained traction in the fourth quarter when Gabby King nailed a 3-pointer from the corner to make it a one-score game, but Lafayette closed it out to take the 44-38 victory.
A tough week for Park Hill South, with a pair of non-conference defeats, dropped their record to 5-2 entering Christmas. They return to the court on Jan. 3 when they play Blue Valley North for an 810 Showcase matchup.