PANKEY'S CAREER-HIGH 33 POINTS LEAD MIDDLETOWN SOUTH OVER BRICK MEMORIAL IN THE FIRST ROUND OF THE SCT

A 33-point explosion from Middletown South's Danielle Pankey helped the Eagles fight off an upset bid from Brick Memorial in an exciting 65-58 win in the first round of the Shore Conference Tournament.

The Eagles were without Jill Gannon for the game, and Pankey stepped up in a big way to score more than half her team's points.

Pankey came up clutch in the fourth quarter, scoring on a 3-point play with 3:50 left in the game. Then two key free throws gave South a 61-55 lead with 1:15 left on the clock.

Brick Memorial came out on fire, hungry for the upset victory. The Mustangs were leading 10-4 early, but the Eagles came alive a few minutes in and went on a 7-0 run to take an 11-10 lead. South held a 17-16 advantage at the end of the first period.

The Eagles and Mustangs played evenly in the second quarter. At the end of the quarter, a steal by the Eagles turned into a fast break lay-up opportunity for Pankey, but she was fouled at the very end of the half. After initially calling a shooting foul, the referees changed the call and said there was no foul and the half was over. After a lengthy discussion with the officials, head coach Tom Brennan and his team went into the locker room with a 33-29 lead.

The two teams continued to play a close game throughout the second half, with the third quarter ending on a Kerry Kinsella put-back lay-up to give South a 42-39 lead heading into the final quarter.

Megan McGuiness added 9 points for the Eagles, while Annie McCarthy and Bethany Butka scored 13 and 10, respectively for Brick Memorial. Middletown South advances to the next round of the Shore Conference Tournament to play at Howell on Friday at 4 p.m.