Photo by Chris Drummond Marshall Tiger senior forward Abby Panka makes a pass to a teammate in Thursday’s night action against the Sioux Falls Washington Warriors. 

MARSHALL– After a competitive opening half that saw the Marshall Tigers girls basketball team in the lead, a woeful second half saw them fall by double digits to Sioux Falls Washington Warriors 63-50 on Thursday evening.

The Marshall Tigers came out and played a great first half holding the Warriors to 22 points and rebounding the ball exceptionally well. Abby Panka had 11 points for the Tigers at the half as they led 26-22.

Then the Warriors turned it up.

The Warriors came out and scored the first 12 points of the half and would extend a small lead into a big lead. The Tigers were outscored in the first nine minutes of the second half 32-8. The Warriors started hitting 3-pointers to create distance from the Tigers.

Bri Simpson scored 12 of her 14 points in the second half, but the run the Tigers made was too little too late. Panka finished with a team-high 15 points and added five rebounds.

“I thought I played well, but we didn’t win and that’s what matters the most,” Panka said. “We have to be more consistent on offense and defense. We just need to be ready to go in both halves and be ready to play no matter what the score is.”

Simpson also had four rebounds and two assists. Taleigha Bigler had 9 points, five rebounds, and team-high three assists. Teammate Lexie Bednarek had 8 points with three assists.

“I thought we played well in the first half,” Tigers head coach Dan Westby said. “Then in the second half, they started on a 12-0 run and then a 20-2 run. That was the difference in the game. I thought Washington shot the ball well in the second half and we just stood around too much on offense. We were watching the game instead of playing it.”

The Marshall Tigers girls basketball team concludes their homestand this evening as they host the Worthington Trojans at 7:15 p.m.