The Switzerland County girls varsity basketball team made the long journey to Knightstown, Indiana on Saturday afternoon to take on the Lady Panthers, and the long trip didn’t have much impact on Coach Mark Boggs’ squad, as the Lady Pacers ran their record to 5-1 with a 58-16 victory.
The win for Switzerland County was so convincing that senior Keirstan Oeffinger outscored Knightstown all by herself — 17 to 16 — in a game that was truly a rout.
Switzerland County jumped out to a quick lead, moving out in front by a score of 18-6 at the end of the first quarter.
The Lady Pacers again saw their offense powered by the three-pointer, as Maddie Duvall had two three-pointers in the opening quarter, Oeffinger added one, and so did Jessie Duvall. Maddie Duvall and Oeffinger also contributed field goals in the opening stanza, and Hannah Hayes also added two points.
Knightstown got its six first quarter points on buckets by Rena Witham, Paige Personett, and Avery Bever.
Switzerland County continued to pour on the offense in the second period, outscoring their hosts by a 19-7 count to grab a commanding 37-13 lead at the half.
Three-pointers continued to fuel the Lady Pacer attack, as Oeffinger had two more treys in the period; while Jayden Thomas and Courtney Higgins also had three-pointers in the second.
Jessie Duvall had five second period points in a field goal and three freethrows; while Nora Hankins also added a bucket.
Up by 24 points at the half, the second half saw a combination of Lady Pacer offense and also strong Switzerland County defense, as Knightstown managed just three points in the entire second half.
In the third quarter, won by the Lady Pacers by a 5-1 count, Jessie Duvall and Hayes each had baskets and Hankins added a freethrow; while the Lady Panthers got a freethrow from Personett as their only point over the eight minute span.
The final eight minutes again belonged to Switzerland County, as the Lady Pacers scored 16 more points while holding Knightstown to just two.
Oeffinger again showed off her long range shooting with two more three-pointers; while Allena Weaver had five points on a pair of field goals and a freethrow.
Jessie Duvall and Halle Archer each had buckets in the fourth; and Maddie Duvall chipped in a freethrow.
Final score: Switzerland County 58, Knightstown 16.
Fueled by five three-pointers, Oeffinger led all scorers with 17 points; while Jessie Duvall (three field goals, a three-pointer, and a perfect 3-for-3 from the line) was also in double figures with 12 points.
Maddie Duvall finished with nine points including a pair of three-pointers; Weaver had five points — all in the final quarter, Hayes had four points; Thomas, Hankins and Higgins each had three; and Archer finished with two.
Oeffinger also had four assists, three steals, and two rebounds in the game; Jessie Duvall had nine steals, four assists and four rebounds; and Maddie Duvall had seven steals, four assists and a pair of rebounds.
Hayes added two rebounds and a blocked shot; Hankins pulled down six rebounds and handed out three assists; Thomas contributed four rebounds, two steals and an assist; and Archer grabbed five rebounds and also had a steal and an assist.
Switzerland County finished with 10 three-pointers in the contest.
Witham and Personett each have five to lead the Lady Panthers.
The Lady Pacers open December on a busy streak, as the team traveled to Milan on Tuesday, December 1st (report on that game in next week’s edition); then travel to Crothersville tonight (Thursday, December 3rd) before coming home on Saturday, December 5th to host Christian Academy.
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The junior varsity Lady Pacers also earned a big win on Saturday, as Dakota Richards’ 13 points led Switzerland County to a 41=14 victory over Knightstown.
There really wasn’t much of a contest until the final quarter, as Switzerland County outscored their hosts11-2 in the first quarter; 2-0 in a frigid shooting second quarter; and 16-1 coming out of the halftime break in the third quarter.
In that first period, Kenzie Taylor and Allena Weaver each had four points; while Courtney Higgins had three on a field goal and a freethrow.
The lone points of the second quarter were scored by Halle Archer.
The third period saw the Switzerland County offense pick up, with Richards hitting a pair of three-pointers for six points; while Higgins had two field goals and two freethrows for six points. Macy Collier had two field goals for the other four points in the period.
Richards continued her hot shooting in the final stanza, hitting another three-pointer to go with a pair of field goals; Terra Oeffinger had a field goal, and Molly Wrightsman also picked up two points on a field goal. Megan Wetzel contributed a freethrow for the other Lady Pacer point.
For the game: Richards led the way with 13 points; Higgins had nine; Weaver, Collier, and Taylor each had four; Wrightsman, Oeffinger and Archer each finished with two; and Wetzel added one.