The Knoxville Girls Basketball Squad got the win it was searching for on Saturday, while the boys let an early lead slip away in a loss to Newton as heard live on 95.3 KNIA. The girls controlled things from the tip to the final buzzer in a 46-31 win. The Panthers roared out to a 28-8 lead and coasted from there. The Dunkin Sisters did most of the damage with defense and spot on shooting. Hannah scored 17 points while Emma put in 11. Coach Matt Ritchhart was happy with the defense and how his team took control early.

Ritchhart: “Really controlled the first half especially on defense, and we were able to get everyone on the court in the last 3-4 minutes. We really played well defensively and rebounded the ball well.”

Knoxville improves to 13-7 on the season. The boys threw the 1st punch against the Cardinals getting up 29-17 midway through the 1st half, the class 3A 5th ranked Cardinals ended the 1st half on a 17-3 run and never looked back, pulling away in the second half to win 74-46. Knoxville was taking the ball to the basket and driving aggressively during its run, but Newton flipped the script and outscored Knoxville in the 2nd half 40-14. Panthers Coach Troy Pearson told KNIA/KRLS Sports his team went into a lull and they need to get better and find a way out of it.

Pearson: “One of those momentum things you have in high school basketball. It’s hard to turn it around and with age and maturity we’ll learn to play through those lulls better next year.”

Landen Norris scored 14 points while Jay Kellar had ten. Knoxville is now 11-7 on the season and will travel to Oskaloosa on Monday, while the girls play at Fairfield on Tuesday.