The Apollo E-Gals played host to the Daviess County Lady Panthers on Friday night in a rematch of their January 14th triumph. However, A win was not in the cards for the home team for the second straight time these teams matched up, meaning it was Daviess County on the smiling side of a 44-40 final score. The victory for the Lady Panthers (15-10, 3-3) was the first of its kind since last knocking off Apollo (13-13, 2-4) on January 6, 2017.
The visitors got off to a great start in the game, limiting the impact of the Apollo bigs, while keeping the scoreline relatively low by the end of the first half at 18-16 in their favor. The effort was in stark contrast to the reverse matchup on Luther Beatley Court, a game in which Apollo jumped out to a double-digit lead in the first quarter.
Though Apollo’s Amaya Curry and Shelbie Beatty managed a solid output of 16 points combined, no other E-Gals player was able to put points on the board before halftime. For Daviess County, Adylan Ayer led the way with eight first-half points, complemented by buckets from each of Lily Hoagland and Katie Mewes, with Maddison Spurrier also scoring four points of her own before the break.
Daviess County head coach Stephen Haile was proud of his team’s initial effort after the contest, in what he called the most physical high school basketball game he’d ever seen.
“We did a better job starting today,” Haile said. “I preached that to the girls in practice, because Apollo scores and often against almost every team they play. Curry and Beatty are crafty players and they are tough to keep in front of you from the jump. And besides, that’s one of the most physical games I’ve ever witnessed. Both teams were bumping each other on the drive and there was a lot of toughness that we showed tonight to get a win.”
The win was difficult to earn down the stretch for the Lady Panthers, as Beatty scored 12 fourth-quarter points to keep it close. Though the final score of 44-40 was not incredibly high, the final frame provided plenty of fireworks before the victory was certain.
With 2:42 remaining in the fourth quarter Beatty knocked in a layup to put Apollo ahead 36-35, the last time they’d be ahead in the game. The answer from Daviess County was swift, as both Katie Mewes and CJ Paige were able to come up with turnovers and scores in transition down the stretch. Finally, Ayer and Hoagland both came up with big free throws to put the game out of reach.
In the opposite locker room, Apollo head coach Natalie Payne took a few extra minutes to console her team after their tough home loss.
“I feel like Daviess County just came to play tonight and their physicality got to us,” Payne said. “It’s this time of year where everyone knows personnel and all the scores get lower and tighter in district games. I told the girls tonight that you have to lose some tough ones in crunch time to be able to know how to win down the stretch in the state tournament. We’re getting into the last week of the regular season and my job now is to give the girls the confidence they need to go out and execute a little better to help us win. I think this loss will help fuel them to stay hungry for the next one.”
After a big win on the road, Daviess County officially wrapped up the No. 2 seed in the district tournament. They will be wearing home white in the first round of the 9th district tournament on their home court, as they host Apollo in one final tilt between the two evenly matched squads.
Up next for Daviess County is a trip to Lyon County Saturday morning at 10 a.m. as they take part in the Akridge Ace Hardware Shootout this weekend. For Apollo, a restful weekend now precedes a Monday night battle with Breckinridge County at home. That game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. tip-off.
