JUDA - Beloit Turner may have nightmares of Juda senior C.J. Dunwiddie stealing the ball and driving in for a layup.
Dunwiddie, along with senior Ellen Kiser, propelled the Panthers to a 51-22 win over Beloit Turner in the season opener and first round of the Juda tournament Friday night. Dunwiddie scored 14 points to go along with seven steals and five rebounds to spark a 26-4 second quarter run. Juda will play Fall River in the championship game at 7:15 tonight.
"We have been practicing hard to get better on defense," Dunwiddie said. "I think it showed tonight. We all came out motivated. We just wanted to come out and win more than anything."
The winning formula for the Panthers the last few years has included Dunwiddie and Kiser, who are both in their fourth years starting. Kiser, a 6 foot, 2 inch University of North Dakota recruit, scored 11 points to eclipse the 1,000 career points milestone.
"It was good to have all my teammates there supporting me," Kiser said. "I knew when I was young I wanted to play basketball. I knew basketball would be in my life."
It was a dominating team performance by the Panthers as nine players scored. The Panthers got off to a hot start with a 7-0 spurt to open the game. Dunwiddie scored on a putback, senior Amber Ramos scored down low and junior Jessica Rackow scored on a putback after an offensive rebound. The Trojans committed seven turnovers on their first eight possessions and the Panthers held them without a field goal for 7 minutes, 18 seconds. However, Juda shot just 3 of 16 in the first quarter and led just 9-3 at the end of the period.
"We have only been practicing for nine days," Juda coach Curt Brown said. "I knew we would struggle shooting. I always tell the girls we have to take the lid off the basket. I think once we hit a couple of layups and free throws, then we got going."
The shooting woes subsided in the second quarter as Dunwiddie sparked a 26-4 surge with five steals in the second quarter which led to layups. Juda junior Brittany Moe drilled a 3-pointer late in the second quarter to give the Panthers a 22-point lead on the way to a 33-8 halftime lead. The Trojans had 15 of their 21 turnovers in the first half.
"C.J. is really stepping into her own," Brown said. "We rely on her. I thought she played great defense tonight."
Dunwiddie wasn't worried about a rocky shooting first quarter.
"I thought once we got going and got back into it, we would find our touch and they would start falling," she said. "I think it will just keep progressing from here."
Dunwiddie, along with senior Ellen Kiser, propelled the Panthers to a 51-22 win over Beloit Turner in the season opener and first round of the Juda tournament Friday night. Dunwiddie scored 14 points to go along with seven steals and five rebounds to spark a 26-4 second quarter run. Juda will play Fall River in the championship game at 7:15 tonight.
"We have been practicing hard to get better on defense," Dunwiddie said. "I think it showed tonight. We all came out motivated. We just wanted to come out and win more than anything."
The winning formula for the Panthers the last few years has included Dunwiddie and Kiser, who are both in their fourth years starting. Kiser, a 6 foot, 2 inch University of North Dakota recruit, scored 11 points to eclipse the 1,000 career points milestone.
"It was good to have all my teammates there supporting me," Kiser said. "I knew when I was young I wanted to play basketball. I knew basketball would be in my life."
It was a dominating team performance by the Panthers as nine players scored. The Panthers got off to a hot start with a 7-0 spurt to open the game. Dunwiddie scored on a putback, senior Amber Ramos scored down low and junior Jessica Rackow scored on a putback after an offensive rebound. The Trojans committed seven turnovers on their first eight possessions and the Panthers held them without a field goal for 7 minutes, 18 seconds. However, Juda shot just 3 of 16 in the first quarter and led just 9-3 at the end of the period.
"We have only been practicing for nine days," Juda coach Curt Brown said. "I knew we would struggle shooting. I always tell the girls we have to take the lid off the basket. I think once we hit a couple of layups and free throws, then we got going."
The shooting woes subsided in the second quarter as Dunwiddie sparked a 26-4 surge with five steals in the second quarter which led to layups. Juda junior Brittany Moe drilled a 3-pointer late in the second quarter to give the Panthers a 22-point lead on the way to a 33-8 halftime lead. The Trojans had 15 of their 21 turnovers in the first half.
"C.J. is really stepping into her own," Brown said. "We rely on her. I thought she played great defense tonight."
Dunwiddie wasn't worried about a rocky shooting first quarter.
"I thought once we got going and got back into it, we would find our touch and they would start falling," she said. "I think it will just keep progressing from here."
