Mattoon fell behind early and struggled to stop Pana under the basket in a 52-46 loss in the Pana Thanksgiving girls basketball tournament on Friday night.
The Green Wave (2-2) erased a seven-point deficit by outscoring Pana to move within 36-34 entering the final quarter and then went ahead in the final quarter.
Mattoon took a two-point lead with a minute left in the fourth quarter, but the Green Wave could not stop Pana’s inside game – and ultimately missed too many shots, according to MHS coach Troy Haacke.
“(Anna) Beyers made some big plays down the stretch,” Haacke said. “We didn’t shoot it as well as we did in the previous games. We had open looks that just didn’t fall.”
Beyers finished with 17 points.
Mattoon’s Lily Ghere scored 13 of her 16 points in the second half. Emily Maple scored a team-high 17.
Mattoon plays for third place on Saturday night at 6 vs Olney.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | |
| Mattoon | 7 | 13 | 14 | 12 – | 46 |
| Pana | 11 | 16 | 9 | 16 – | 52 |
MATTOON
Lily Ghere 6 2-2 16, Emily Maple 7 1-2 17, Piper Sanders 1 0-0 2, Kameron Lathrop 0 0-0 0, Bella Masse 1 1-2 3, Ella Conyers 2 1-2 6, Teygen Sewell 1 0-0 2. Totals – 18 5-8 46. 3-pointers – Ghere 2, Maple 2, Conyers 1.
Coles County Sports 