The Knoxville Girls Basketball Squad knew Grinnell would play tough defense coming into the game last night. So the Panthers decided to give the Tigers a dose of their own medicine, and that was the elixir for a 51-34 Knoxville win. The Panthers used a 6-0 run in the third quarter to get distance on an already six point halftime lead. But when Grinnell closed the gap back to six, the Panthers would pull away and end the game on a 13-2 run. Coach Jim Utiermarkt told his team to out hustle and be more aggressive than Grinnell. Ashley Hawkshead led a balanced scoring effort with 12 points, Rikki Hall had ten and Taylor Carter had nine points. Utiermarkt added that players like Carter, Marissa Lenger and Meredith Cunningham played well defensively and caused all kinds of havoc for Grinnell. Knoxville improves to 1-3 on the season and 1-0 in conference play. On the boys side, the game started as if the first team to 20 points would win. Tied at five after one quarter of play, Grinnell would outscore Knoxville 20-9 in the second quarter to lead 25-14, and methodically pull away in the second half for a 58-30 win over the Panthers. The Tigers limited Knoxville to just one shot for most of the game and to just 26% shooting from the field. Knoxville was led by Ross Shelford’s nine points and Joe Stearns with seven. Knoxville is 0-4 on the season and 0-1 in Little Hawkeye Conference play. Both boys and girls squads will return to action Monday night hosting Centerville.

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