Top seeds Putnam County, Newark survive upset bids

By KEVIN CHLUM kchlum@shawmedia.com

GRANVILLE – The top two seeds were pushed but survived in the Class 1A Putnam County Girls Basketball Regional semifinals.

No. 2-seeded Putnam County edged No. 9 Midland 27-22 before No. 3 Newark pulled out a 64-55 victory over No. 6 St. Bede.

Midland (23-7) beat the Panthers (22-9) 48-23 for the regional title Thursday night. Newark beat PC 32-19 in the regular season finale Wednesday.

Putnam County 27, Midland 22

The Lady Panthers played Midland three times in the regular season and each time were able to pull away in the second half, but couldn’t Monday in a narrow victory.

PC trailed 5-2 after one quarter, led 14-13 at halftime and never led by more than seven points.

“I told the girls I’ve never felt worse in 14 years after a win,” Putnam County coach Jared Sale said. “I thought we played scared to lose. This time of year, you can’t do that.

“To beat somebody four times is always tough. We had to knock down some free throws with under a minute left and were able to survive and advance, so it is what it is.”

Sophie Milloy drained a 3-pointer to give Midland a 16-15 lead with 5:33 left in the third, but the Lady Panthers responded with a three-point play by Maggie Richetta, one of her three on the night, to take the lead for good.

“I’m glad I finished at the rim and was able to make my free throws,” Richetta said.

“It’s something I usually struggle with is free throws. They were better tonight.

“[The three-point plays] were big to bring us ahead because it was pretty close the whole time.” strong by scoring the last nine points of the period to build a 42-33 lead.

PC did not score a field goal in the fourth but made four free throws to hold off the Timberwolves, who pulled as close as 25-22 with 2:13 left.

Ava Hatton led PC with 11 points, while Richetta had nine.

The Bruins inched closer as Hueneburg buried another 3 and Brown knocked down a jumper.

That’s when Andrew Pyszka and Mattingly for PC and Brady and Hueneburg for St. Bede started to battle back and forth.

The Panthers led 53-48 with less than two minutes to play.

Wyatt Grimshaw put the finishing touches on the game for Putnam County with a three-point play.

Mattingly scored 22 points for the Panthers, while Hueneburg finished with 22 for the Bruins.

“I had a good [game] because my teammates got me the ball in the right spots, and fortunately I was able to knock down some shots tonight, but that’s the brand of ball we play, unselfish and high energy,” Hueneburg said. “Senior night is special, and we weren’t going to let a slow start ruin it, so we just snipped away at it and even got to a tie. It would have been nice to win it, but I was proud of how we played.”

Boys Basketball Regional Preview

Class 1a Dwight Regional

Teams to beat: No. 2 Serena (23-8), No. 3 Putnam County (23-7)

Saturday, Feb. 18

No. 14 Morgan Park (5-19) at No. 2 Serena (23-8)

No. 9 Fenger (8-17) at No. 5 Yorkville Christian (9-21)

No. 13 Unity Christian (8-5) at No. 3 Putnam County (23-7)

No. 8 Gardner-South Wilmington (11-19) at No. 7 Dwight (15-14)

Wednesday’s Semifinals

Game 1-2 winners, 6 p.m. Game 3-4 winners, 7:30 p.m.

Outlook: If it happens, the Putnam County-Yorkville Christian showdown will be much earlier this season. The Mustangs beat the Panthers in the sectional final last winter, but this season the meeting would come in the regional semifinals. Putnam County defeated Yorkville Christian 75-69 on Dec. 21. Yorkville Christian senior David Douglas averages 34.4 points and 9.3 rebounds. “We’re excited if we can get to it,” PC coach Harold Fay said. “It’s nice to know what you’re facing instead of watching on a laptop. We know exactly what they have. They have one really good player. We have to guard him as best we can. He’s going to get his points and then we just have to limit the rest of them.” If the Panthers win their first two regional games, they’re likely to see Serena in the final. PC has not played Serena. “I saw them over at (the Marquette tournament),” Fay said about Serena. “They’re steady. They don’t do anything flashy. They’re consistent. They don’t make mistakes. They pressure you and if you make a mistake they’re going to take the ball.” The Panthers won four games in a row and five of their last six games.

Next: Winner advances to the Putnam County Sectional to play the winner of the Corliss Regional.