After a string of 12 wins, the Middle Creek Mustangs's good fortune finally ran out on Tuesday. They took a hard 68-49 fall against Panther Creek. The defeat unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for Middle Creek in their matchups with Panther Creek: they've now lost five in a row.
Middle Creek lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Alysia Pergerson, who scored nine points along with five steals. Pergerson is absolutely dominating the steal category: she's posted at least two every time she's taken the court this season. Another player making a difference was Sarah Furst, who dropped a double-double on ten points and 11 rebounds.
Panther Creek had a senior duo take command as Taylor Barner scored 31 points along with five rebounds and two steals and Olivia Tucker scored 25 points along with nine rebounds and eight steals. That's the first time this season that Tucker pulled down eight or more rebounds. Kirstin Smalls was another key contributor, scoring six points along with 11 rebounds and two steals.
Middle Creek's defeat ended a seven-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 13-3. As for Panther Creek, they pushed their record up to 12-4 with that win, which was their 13th straight on the road dating back to last season.
Both squads are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Middle Creek won't have much time to rest: their next match is against Cary at 5:30 p.m. on January 24th. Cary will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps North Carolina Rankings (they are ranked 248th, while Middle Creek is ranked 52nd). As for Panther Creek, they will be playing at home against Green Level at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
