Panthers comeback from 15 down for win over WKU

Beacon File Phot

Down 15 points with 12:42 to go in the game, Head Coach Cindy Russo pulled her squad together in a timeout, hoping to keep them from completely falling apart.

“The things they were doing to us were kind of new,” Russo said. “We’re just a work in progress in terms of learning things.”

After that timeout, the Panthers came flying back to life, outscoring the Hilltoppers 39-20 to end the game. Sophomore guard Jerica Coley tied her career high in the Panthers 60-56 victory over Western Kentucky. She also became the 23rd Panther to ever reach the 1,000-point mark for her career.

Heading into the game, Coley was averaging 24.3 points per game. Following a career high tying performance, her average is up to 24.9, still behind Elena Delle Donne of Delaware.

“We started getting open on the weak side,” Coley said. “After that, we caught their defense shifting. Then everybody started making shots.”

The Panthers started off the night as bad as possible. After one half of play, the Panthers had almost as many turnovers (13) as points (15). The second half was a completely different story.

“We put a little pressure on them and they didn’t like that,” Russo said. “We settled down and handled pressure a little better.”

Starting out with a full court press in the second half, the Panthers forced three straight turnovers on the Hilltoppers that all resulted in points. Fanni Hutlassa came on strong in the second half, at one point converting on two straight three-point attempts.

“It was time to wake up,” Hutlassa said, “We know we are the better team, and we didn’t want to lose this game.”

Despite committing 19 turnovers in the game, the Panthers shot 52% in the second half and pulled down 30 rebounds, 16 on the offensive side.