The Kewanee Boiler Girls defeated the Princeton Lady Tigers, 40-37, at Princeton’s Prouty Gymnasium in a Three Rivers Conference showdown.
The Lady Tigers entered the contest undefeated, 14-0.
Both teams struggled early in the contest after trading turnovers to settle up knotted at 13-13 to end the opening quarter.
Junior Audrey Clucas led the Boiler Girls with two 3-pointers in the first frame. The second quarter turned into a defensive battle with the Lady Tigers taking the halftime lead 21-19.
The third quarter was dominated by the Boiler Girls as they erased their deficit and took a 35-31 lead into the fourth behind a balanced 16-point surge in which every Boiler Girl scored, led by junior Bailey Van Winkle’s six points.
Pressure defense on both sides of the court led to just 11 total points in the final frame. Kewanee’s lead grew to 38-31, but turnovers led to their lead shrinking to just three points with under a minute to go.
Kewanee’s high-pressure defense forced three unsuccessful Lady Tigers scoring attempts in the waning seconds to preserve the victory.
Boiler Girls scoring: VanWinkle (12), Diaz (11), Clucas (8), Abernathy (5), Yepsen (4)
Kewanee is 4-1 in the Three Rivers Conference, 12-7 overall.
The next game for the Boiler Girls is Wednesday, Jan. 14 (varsity only) at 6 p.m. versus Erie/Prophetstown in Erie.
