Leading by only two points after one half of play (22-20), the top-seeded Lady Panthers of Grundy County High School looked vulnerable to an upset against lightly regarded #8 seed Bucklin/Macon County. However, the second half performance from the “Galt girls”, led by Jandie Peterson, was much stronger, in a 73-46 win in the quarterfinals of the Meadville Tournament.
Peterson finished with 25 points, six rebounds, eight assists, and four steals for Grundy; with Morgan Axtell adding 18 points (14 in the second half), eight assists and four steals. Anna Milazzo had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds while Aubrey Gann had nine points and Mady Williams eight in the victory. Gann had a team-high 11 boards for Grundy R-5, helping move the Lady Panthers into a semifinal with Linn County, set for 7 o’clock on Thursday night.
In the first game of the Tuesday night session from Meadville High School, the late-season surge of the Mercer Lady Cardinals continued, in an upset of the #2 seed Hale Cardinals. Behind 18 points from Rayne Kost, Mercer rolled to a 67-49 victory. Bailey Stephens led Hale with 14. Mercer’s girls, on Thursday afternoon at 4:30, will play Tina-Avalon in semifinal action.
On the boys side of the bracket at Meadville, the Mercer Cardinals, behind 19 points from Cam Hartley, shutdown the Grundy R-5 Panthers 61-32. Johnathan Stimpson had 12 points for the Panthers in defeat. Mercer will play Linn County at 5:45 on Thursday night in the semifinals. The host Meadville Eagles cruised to a 67-26 win over Bucklin/Macon County, with Dillon Seckington leading a balanced Eagle attack with 12 points. Sonny Dow had 11 points for BMC.
The Meadville Tournament continues tonight (Wednesday night) with consolation semifinal action, starting at 4:30 with the Hale Lady Cardinals playing Meadville. In the other girl’s consolation semifinal, at 7 o’clock, Northwestern battles Bucklin/Macon County. In tonight’s boys games, Tina-Avalon duels with Grundy R-5 at 5:45, while Hale and Bucklin/Macon County play at 8:15.
