PANORA — Panorama used a strong first half to hold off visiting Van Meter, 64-58, in WCAC girls basketball Tuesday, with the Panther boys unable to prevent the Bulldogs from running away after the intermission for a 67-52 win.
The Panthers (4-2, 3-1) topped the Bulldogs (3-3, 2-1) in the opener thanks largely to a 10-point advantage they had built at the break. The hosts led, 17-11, after the first quarter, slowly widening the gap to double-digits, at 34-24, after two periods.
Van Meter began to slowly chip away at their disadvantage, using an 18-15 edge in the third quarter to draw within 49-42. The guests were within five points early in the final frame, but Panorama went on an 11-2 run over a five-minute span to open a 60-46 gulf and held on from there.
Payton Beckman led the Panthers with 18 points, with Ella Waddle adding 16 points and Angel Poldberg 13. Anna Holloway provided nine points, Shey Storesund six and Laci Rishel two. Waddle sank four 3-pointers, Beckman two and Poldberg one.
Clair Lauterbach led all scorers with 24 points, with 15 coming on five treys. Natalie Barth had 10 points, Jorja Hanselman nine and Zoie Vaught six for Van Meter. Josie Durflinger, Josie Cross and Maia Abrahamson had three points apiece, with each making one 3-pointer.
Van Meter (4-0, 4-0) handed Panorama (4-1, 3-1) their first loss of the season by dominating play in the second half of the boys contest.
The guests led, 16-15, after eight minutes of play before both teams put 16 points on the board in the second quarter, creating a 32-31 halftime edge for the Bulldogs.
The Panthers then went into an uncharacteristic offensive lull, with a 14-8 third frame allowing the visitors to open a 46-39 gap. Panorama was unable to bring the game back into range, coming up short, 21-13, in the last eight minutes of the loss.
Panorama sank 14-of-19 free throws, but Van Meter toed the line 32 times, sinking 20.
Eleven points from both Malachi Peasley and Kolby Shackelford paced the Panthers. Zach Rizzuti had eight points, Drew Taylor six and Lucas Leiferman five, with four points apiece from both Michael Allen and Evan Taylor and three from Dominic Walker completing the Panorama scoring sheet.
Rizzuti connected twice from beyond the 3-point arc, with Leiferman, Peasley, Shackelford and Walker all had one 3-pointer apiece.
Anthony Potthoff’s game-high 26 points led Van Meter. Chris Schreck had five 3-pointers to fuel a 23-point effort. He was 8-of-8 at the foul line and had two treys as part of 14 second-half points. Brett Berg and Zach Madden each had one 3-pointer and nine total points apiece for the guests.
Panorama will cap their pre-holiday schedule with a visit to AC/GC Friday.
