GARDNER —
Emotions for the PikeView Lady Panthers have been on a rollercoaster the past two weeks.
PikeView (7-7) took a tough loss to defending AA champion Westside on Jan. 15 before coming back to defeat rivals Bluefield and Summers County last week. However on Tuesday night, the Lady Panthers could not stop Shealyn Shafer and Nicholas County.
“Our girls’ spirits were a little down,” PikeView head coach Karen Miller said. “Practice was a little slow at the beginning [Wednesday]. Last week was a big week for us. “Any time you can beat Bluefield on a big court and beat Summers at home – it was two big wins. Against Nicholas last night, we played well at times. Some of the shots just didn’t fall for us and that’s basketball.”
Things won’t be getting any easier for PikeView as they were scheduled to play James Monroe Thursday. They visit Wyoming East Friday night before traveling to Beckley for a Saturday afternoon tip with Woodrow Wilson.
“It’s really tough,” Miller said of three-straight days with game. “If the girls just take care of their bodies and put the right foods in their systems, I think we’ll be OK.”
The Lady Panthers will be looking to rebound from a 58-44 loss at home against the No. 3 Class AA Grizzles (14-1) on Tuesday night.
Hope Nester scored 19 points to lead PikeView, but no other player was in double digits. Madison May added eight points and Lyndsay Hatfield had five.
Shafer poured in 21 points while Mykenzie Martin scored 17 points and Lindsay Hogan added eight points.
“With Nicholas, they have a great inside-outside game,” Miller said. “Shafer went down with an ankle injury in the fourth and I think those girls rallied behind her. They started hitting three’s from everywhere.
“It’s tough when you run into team with an excellent post player and good guards who can penetrate, dish and hit shots. When Shafer went down, we were maybe down seven and those girls really stepped up their play.”
The Nicholas lose followed a big win for PikeView as the Lady Panthers took down arch-rival Summers County 46-43 in Gardner. Last year, PikeView snapped a long losing streak to the Bobcats with a victory in the sectional championship, but that was at Princeton.
Hatfield led the Panthers with 18 points – 13 coming in the opening half. Nester added 15 points despite sitting out the end of the game after her knee brace broke.
“It was a great feeling to beat them on our court,” Miller said. “It’s been a long time since we’ve done that. It lifted our girls’ spirits. Anytime you can beat a quality time like Summers County, its good.”
A big key to the recent success for PikeView has been the improved play of Nester. The junior point guard has put together three solid performances in row. She scored 19 points and grabbed 8 boards against Bluefield and is averaging 17.7 points the last three outings.
“At the beginning of the season, she was limited with time on the quarter,” Miller commented. “She came back pretty quickly from her surgery. She worked her tail off to get back and to be able to start the first day of practice.
“We told her to go light, but that’s not Hope. We were limiting her minutes early. Her conditioning is a lot better now and she can stay on the court longer. She’s getting back to the Hope that we know.”
In the Panthers two big wins last week, PikeView had several other players step up when it matter. Hatfield scored 18 points in their win against Summers County while Hatfield, Madison May, Alexis May, and Crysta Meekins scored between six to eight points in the win against Bluefield.
“Hope some nights will only get 10, 15 points,” said Miller. “The highest amount of points she’s had is maybe 20 and that was in the first game of the season. When we can get Lyndsay and the other players to contribute, it takes a lot of pressure off her.
“We’ve got kids coming off the bench who are helping. It’s great when other kids can step up and help us out.”
The Lady Panthers will need their bench to continue to step up with three games in as many days and all against tough opponents.
Wyoming East (10-7) is riding a three-game win streak and is coming off a 26-point victory over Independence while Woodrow Wilson defeated PikeView earlier this year by 12 points.
“Wyoming East has been playing real well this year,” Miller said. “They’re pretty young, but Summers County only beat them by six. They’re playing really good basketball.
“All three games are going to be tough. We have to remind our girls every day they have to come with their ‘A’ game, because everyone else is. You better come focused to play. If we are focused and play our game, we’ll be okay.”
•••
The PikeView boys split their two games this week.
On Monday, PikeView fell 64-40 to the Golden Knights in overtime then the Panthers clawed pasted Independence Wednesday 68-40.
Logan McKinney’s 20 paced PikeView in their win. Tanner Farley added 11 points and Austin Cordell chipped in with 10.
In their loss, McKinney was limited to just five points. Jason Weitzel had 12 points and Farley had 10.
The Panthers host James Monroe Friday then visit Liberty on Monday.
Sports
February 1, 2013
PikeView teams struggle through up-and-down season
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