Panthers Bounce Back With Blowout Victory

After suffering a lopsided loss at Redondo Union last week, Peninsula bounced back in impressive fashion Tuesday, drilling Lawndale Leuzinger in a 55-26 rout.

Peninsula used a third-quarter surge to end a two-game losing streak and snap a four-game skid in league play. The Panthers (12-12, 2-5) hadn’t recorded a league win since beating the Olympians 59-25 at Leuzinger on Jan. 14.

“It was a good game for us and a positive step in the right direction,” Peninsula coach Natalie Kelly said. “I was most pleased with our defense and how the kids worked together. We had a lot of assists. But I was most pleased with the defensive stops.”

Peninsula’s defense helped the Panthers pull away in the third quarter. Though their defense dictated play in the first half and allowed the Panthers to lead by as many as 19 in the first half, the Olympians (5-15, 0-7) tried to make a game of it in the opening minutes of the third quarter.

They cut the Panthers’ lead to 25-16 before Peninsula answered with a 14-2 run, sparked by Stephanie Wong and Hannah Bruno, to break the contest open.

The Panthers were on the verge of turning the game into a blowout from the opening tip. They raced to a 12-2 lead after the first quarter and increased the margin in the second quarter to 23-4 with 3:28 remaining after a basket by Megan Neeno. At halftime, Peninsula led 25-10.

Unlike recent games, when the opposition shut down their perimeter game, the Panthers flourished with their outside shooting. And with the Panthers building a big lead early, Kelly took advantage of giving plenty of playing time to her reserves.

Shannon Tsumaki, who had a team-high four 3-pointers, led the Panthers with 14 points, while Wong finished with 12. Jean Frazier and Shelby Tsukamoto each pulled down five rebounds for Peninsula.

But it was the Panthers’ overall effort that was most welcomed following the losing streak.

“It’s a good team win for us heading into Friday,” Kelly said, referring to the Panthers rematch with rival Palos Verdes on Friday at Peninsula. “This win was good for us and definitely good for our confidence. We needed it.”

The Panthers will try to avenge a 74-61 setback on Jan. 18 at Palos Verdes.

“It will be interesting,” Kelly said. “We’re excited. It should be a good game for us. We’re going to work these next two games at practice and hopefully give them a good game.”