On Thursday Continental High Girls Basketball ventured to Southern Putnam County for a League game with Fort Jennings. A loud and proud Musketeer crowd was on hand waiting on Senior Kristen Luersman to score her 1000th point (she went into the game at 996). Turned out that it was a great night for both Luersman and the Pirates. Continental opened up the game’s scoring by four points as Addy Armey put in a basket and Alex Hoeffel put in a pair of free throws. A Musketeer basket was followed by a pair of Pirate 3s one from Kerri Prowant and one from Hoeffel. Pirates 10, Musketeers 2. The Musketeers would make it a 1 point game by making a pair of baskets and Luersman moving to 999 on a 3 point play. Pirates 10, Musketeers 9. Prowant would put 3 more on the Pirate point total while the Musketeers would finish the quarters scoring with a basket Continental 13. Musketeers 11 after 1.
Prowant would open up the scoring in the second quarter with a basket to make it Pirates 15-11. Luersman would make two from the line to give the Musketeers 13 and her career total 1001 points. After a brief stoppage of play to honor Luersman the Musketeers would put in another basket (Luersman) to tie it at 15. A basket by Catelyn Etter followed by a Musketeer basket to make it 17 all. A pair of 3s by Prowant would give the Pirates the lead for good 23-17. A Musketeer free throw would be followed by a Madelyn Potts 3 for a Pirates 8 point lead 26-18. A Musketeer basket would be followed by a Hoeffel 3 and an Armey 2. A Musketeer basket would finish up the half’s scoring at Pirates 31 Musketeers 22.
The Musketeers would score 8 of the first 10 points of the second half to cur the Pirates lead to 3, 33-30. Hoeffel would hit a basket for the Pirates during the Musketeers run. A Pirate basket by Armey would be followed by a Musekteer 3 to make it a two point Pirate lead 35-33. A 3 by Etter was followed up a Prowant basket for a Pirate 40-33 lead. A Musketeer basket brought the Pirate lead back down to 5 but the Pirates would rally to put in the next 4 points via a 3 by Potts and a free throw by Katie Keller. The Musketeers would put in a basket at the buzzer to give us a 44-37 Pirate lead heading into the final quarter.
Prowant would hit her 5th 3 of the night to start the fourth quarter scoring and spot the Pirates a 10 point lead 47-37. The two teams traded baskets with Etter hitting for the Pirates 49-39 Pirates. A basket by the Musketeers would be matched with a another Etter basket to make it 49-39. The Musketeer would make it an 8 point game with a basket only to have the Pirates extend their lead to 13 when Potts and Keller hit baskets and Prowant a free throw. Pirate 54 -41. The Pirates would finish the game outscoring the Musketeers 8-6 for a 62-47 Pirate final.
Kerri Prowant led the Pirates with 20 points while Alex Hoeffel and Madelyn Potts both put in 10. Catelyn Etter had 9, Katie Keller 7 and Addy Armey 6. The Pirates had ten 3-pointers with Prowant making 5, Hoeffel and Potts both making 2 and Etter 1. The Musketeers had two 3-pointers. Continental was 6-12 from the line.
Continental improves to 7-7 (1-3 PCL) and will travel to Leipsic on Saturday for another PCL matchup. Fort Jennings falls to 2-14 (1-3 PCL). Fort Jennings took the Junior Varsity contest 32-23.
Kristen Luersman ended up with 19 points on the game giving her 1015 points for her career. She is the 5th Lady Musketeer to score 1000 point.
–Mike Jones, Sportswriter
