Injuries and illness have bit the Siloam Springs girls basketball team early in the season, but the Lady Panthers appear to be on the road to being well and healthy.
That was evident on Friday as the Lady Panthers blitzed Huntsville 57-22 at Panther Activity Center for their second straight win of the season after an 0-4 start.
On Tuesday, the Lady Panthers (2-4) let a large lead slip away at Gentry but still fought for a 50-49 victory.
"I think it was more a sign of we're healthy, we're not sick," said head coach Beau Tillery. "We had a solid performance Tuesday (against Gentry) outside of six minutes in the fourth quarter. We had two good practices (Wednesday and Thursday), and that was the result."
And perhaps some lessons learned.
The Lady Panthers were in control against Gentry, but instead of remaining aggressive, Tillery said they were "defending to not lose."
Against Huntsville, the Lady Panthers scored the first 11 points of the game and led 21-7 after the first quarter and 37-12 at halftime.
Siloam Springs kept up its intensity in the second half, opening up a 47-20 lead going into the fourth quarter. The Lady Panthers hit the running clock mercy rule after an Emily Keehn 3-pointer for a 50-20 lead early in the fourth quarter.
"That's kind of what we've been preaching," Tillery said. "We need to have a sense of urgency, We've got to play with that type of energy and effort throughout a four-quarter game. If we do that, we're going to be really tough to beat."
Mimo Jacklik hit three 3-pointers and led the Lady Panthers with 16 points, while Emily Keehn had 14. Maggie Foster led Huntsville (1-5) with six points.
Siloam Springs was scheduled to play in the Jerry Oquin Invitational in Inola, Okla., on Tuesday. Results were not available at presstime.
Depending on the results of Tuesday's game, the Lady Panthers will play Thursday or Friday and again on Saturday to close out the tournament.
Siloam Springs 57, Huntsville 22
Huntsville^7^5^8^2^--^22
Siloam Springs^21^16^10^10^--^57
Huntsville (1-5): Foster 6, Kirk 5, McCartney 3, Siler 3, Emitt 3, Pillow 2.
Siloam Springs (2-4): Jacklik 16, Keehn 14, Smith 7, Quinonez 5, Wleklinski 4, Johnson 2, Ellis 2, Prendergast 2, Pilcher 2, A. Sears 2, Ross 1.
Siloam Springs 50, Gentry 49
Brooke Ross hit two free throws to take a one-point lead and Siloam Springs held on over the final seconds to defeat Gentry 50-49 at Pioneer Gymnasium in Gentry on Tuesday.
Gentry's Alyssa McCarty hit a 3-pointer in the corner to give the Lady Pioneers a 49-48 lead and Siloam Springs inbounded the ball and called timeout with 13.2 seconds left.
Out of the timeout, the Lady Panthers quickly got the ball to Ross. She was fouled and calmly sank two free throws.
After Ross gave the Lady Panthers the lead, Gentry inbounded the ball, got past halfcourt and called timeout with 2.7 seconds left. The Lady Pioneers' final shot hit the side of the backboard as the Lady Panthers picked up their first win under coach Beau Tillery.
"Just thankful to get that monkey off our back and get a win," Tillery said. "We knew our nonconference would be tough; however we couldn't really anticipate the injuries and sickness that would hit us at the worse time. We have had our top 10 (players) healthy and all practicing twice in the last month. So it's been a grind."
Siloam Springs (1-4) led 12-8 after the first quarter and 26-12 at halftime. Gentry coach Toby Tevebaugh was ejected in the second half.
The Lady Panthers built up a large lead in the third quarter, only for Gentry to rally and cut it to 39-27 going into the fourth quarter.
Ross and Emily Keehn each scored 15 points to lead Siloam Springs, while Brooke Smith had nine, Mimo Jacklik seven and Anna Wleklinski and Faith Ellis each with two.
McCarty led Gentry with 23 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter, while Kaitlyn Caswell had 13.