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CHILLICOTHE — Brick by brick, Southeastern sophomore Gracie Brown is making a household name for herself.
At the beginning of this season, Brown was an underrated guard at best. Now, halfway through, she’s the Panthers’ scoring leader and continues to get better on a nightly basis.
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
And that’s a testament to the dedication to her craft, a never-say-die attitude and her ability to absolutely shell opponents with baskets.
That last part? That’s exactly what happened on Saturday. Brown drilled six 3-point field goals en route to a game-high 25 points and a 67-59 victory over Logan Elm.
To say Brown is “good” from beyond the arc would be a disservice to how good she really is. She’s legitimately lethal.
“I just spot up and, usually, I’m wide open,” Brown said. “They [teammates Morgan Ware and Gabby Pernell] both see me and just pass the ball. I just spot up the shots. I know we can be pretty good. We’ve got four younger players, including myself, and two seniors. [The seniors] know what they’re doing a lot more than [the younger players] we do. So we just follow their lead and in their footsteps.”
Pernell and Ware took advantage of Brown’s hot hand, combining for 16 assists in the win. In total, the Panthers (9-2) tallied 21 assists as a team — on 26 field goals.
Meanwhile, Reese and Rowan Ruckel were dominant inside the paint, helping Southeastern out-rebound Logan Elm by a 33-15 margin.
“We have great chemistry, honestly,” Pernell said. “If I’m not taking shots, passing is my game. I’ve been through that. That’s all of us. We’re all just unselfish and we pass to our wide open teammates. Reese and Rowan help us tremendously inside. They help us get second chance shots and they rebound the ball every chance they get.”
Tale of the tape
Out of the gates, Southeastern took a six-point lead. Pernell, Brown and Reese Ruckel all found a way to score before Logan Elm (6-5) could grace the scoreboard.
The Braves got their first score with 5:16 left in the first, thanks to a bucket from Maggie Wilson, before LE’s Kiannah Ingram sank back-to-back buckets for a 10-8 count at the 2:50 mark.
PHOTOS: Images from Southeastern’s win over Logan Elm
Brown dialed long distance with 2:06 left before Pernell later followed suit, giving SE a 16-12 advantage heading into the second.
The Braves then got a spark from sophomore guard Kimmy Petty, who hit a triple before scoring again at the 6:36 mark. Those buckets gave LE its first lead of the night at 17-16. From there, the two teams traded advantages until Southeastern went ahead 22-19 with a bucket from Pernell.
Ingram then got in on the deep action, finding nylon with 1:34 to go, cutting the deficit to 26-25. But Southeastern managed to sustain a slight advantage at 30-27 going into halftime — thanks to late scores from Reese Ruckel and Ware.
“We had a little rough streak [of schedule] for a minute and weren’t doing too hot,” Pernell said. “But we came back and this is the first game where we actually started fast. That’s good. It helped us a lot.”
In the third, the lightning-quick pace continued. But the Panthers never budged on the offensive end. Brown scored with 6:50 left, Reese Ruckel scored with 4:46 to go, Brown nailed a 3 with 3:51 left and Rowan Ruckel tallied an old-fashioned three-point play at the 48-second mark.
All of that equaled a 47-40 lead going into the final eight minutes.
Early in the fourth, Brown again scored from deep before Petty and company tried to will their way back into the ballgame. Petty’s 3 with 5:42 left trimmed SE’s lead to 51-47.
But that basket was followed by scores from Pernell and Reese Ruckel before Brown provided the dagger with her final triple of the night, providing plenty of cushion at 60-49.
Stat book
Following Brown’s output, Reese Ruckel added 17 points and 10 rebounds while Pernell finished the night with 16 points, nine boards and seven assists. Morgan Ware also helped with two points, three rebounds and a game-high nine assists.
As for Logan Elm, Ingram ended the day with a team-high 24 points while Petty had 16 points and three assists. Groff also helped out with eight points, eight rebounds and two helpers.
What’s on tap
Logan Elm is back in action on Friday, trying to get back in the win column with a trip to Fairfield Union. The Panthers will be back on the hardwood on Saturday in a battle at the top of the conference standings, traveling to Unioto.
“We just have to believe in ourselves I think,” Pernell said. “[Unioto] is a great team. You have to give that to them. But we just have to do our best, try to have confidence in our game and just play the best we can.”
BOX SCORE
Logan Elm: 12-15-13-19 — 59
Southeastern: 16-14-17-20 — 67
Logan Elm: 24-52 FG, 5-8 FT, 6-16 3pt., 15 rebounds (Groff 8), 5 turnovers, 11 assists (Petty 3). Scoring: Ingram 24, Petty 16, Groff 8, Savage 5, Wilson 4, Largent 2.
Southeastern: 26-49 FG, 8-13 FT, 7-17 3pt., 33 rebounds (Re. Ruckel 10), 16 turnovers, 21 assists (Ware 9). Scoring: Brown 25, Re. Ruckel 17, Pernell 16, Ro. Ruckel 4, Fisher 3, Ware 2.
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