PHS, HG hope to turn tables on semifinal opponents
by Greg Ceilley of The Review staff
The Plymouth Panthers and the Howards Grove Tigers hope that the third time is a charm in their girls basketball regional semifinal games Thursday, March 11.
PHS takes on Eastern Wisconsin Conference arch-rival Sheboygan Falls in a Division 2 matchup at Falls at 7 p.m. The Panthers lost to the EWC champions twice during the regular season but played better in the second game when they trailed only 26-23 at halftime (Falls won, 63-48).
The Tigers lost to Oostburg twice in Central Lakeshore Conference battles which were crucial in the CLC title chase. The Lady Dutch and Ozaukee were co-champions at 16-2, followed by Howards at 15-3.
The Howards-Oostburg Division 3 contest will be held at Oostburg with a 7 p.m. tip-off. The teams just met Friday night with the Lady Dutch winning, 47-40, to earn a share of the CLC crown.
Panther head coach Brad Shutter sees a confident team heading into the Falls game.
“I think we gained confidence the last time we played them. We proved we can play with them,” Shutter said.He pointed out the keys for his team to come out on top.
“We can’t let them get anything easy and we need to get back on defense. We have to give them only one shot and we need to get out on their shooters,” Shutter said.
Tiger head coach Heidi Georgeff said her main focus is for her team to play better defense than it did in the last game versus Oostburg. Also, she said the Tigers have to play smart, confident basketball.
She noted other keys to winning:
“Taking the ball to the basket. Getting high percentage shots. Playing solid team defense and playing a complete game of basketball.”
The Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah Resorters will also play in the semifinals. Elkhart hosts Kohler Thursday, March 11 at 7 p.m. in Division 4 action. The top-seeded Resorters received a first-round bye.
Kohler, a No. 4 seed, won its first-round game Tuesday night against Living Word Lutheran, 48-38. The Elkhart-Kohler winner will meet the Sheboygan Christian-Manitowoc Lutheran semifinal victor in the finals Saturday at Cedar Grove-Belgium High School at 1:30 p.m.
