By STEPHEN GLOVER

For the Call

Last week was a good week to be a fan of the Mehlville Senior High girls’ basketball team.

The Panthers have started off the season with a three-game winning streak, which included a 51-48 win over Hancock to win the Southside Classic.

“Hancock is one of those teams that’s very quick,” Mehlville head coach Ed Feibig told the Call.

“They press you all of the time and just don’t quit,” he added.

Plus, Hancock boasts senior guard Sonya Daugherty, who has tallied 28 points per game, tops in her conference.

But the Panthers were able to score against the press and keep Daugherty from knocking them out of the game in the first half.

The star shooter had 25 points in the game, slightly below her season average.

Mehlville found itself down 8-5 after the first quarter of play as the Panthers figured out ways to adjust to Hancock’s smothering defense.

“I really had no idea that we could handle the press because we couldn’t really practice the press,” Feibig explained. “Overall I think we did a pretty good job at handling the press and guarding Daugherty and containing her until the third quarter.”

Daugherty captured most of her game-leading 25 points in the second half.

Meanwhile, Junior Michelle Senf led the Panthers with 11 points and 12 rebounds despite fouling out at the start of the fourth quarter.

“We had her (Senf) covering Daugherty and I think Daugherty was out there guarding her too,” Feibig said.

“One thing about Michelle is that she’s a good rebounder and even on days that she doesn’t score, you can count on her de-fense and rebounds.”

Mehlville also had three players score nine points as Alyse Gordon, Rachel Heet and Alana Wuertz all contributed to the win.

Gordon’s tally was just above her season average of 7.7 points a game. The sophomore forward also recorded four rebounds and two assists.

“Alyse has really been doing a good job and has been fighting injuries all season,” Feibig said. “She’s really become a warrior under the basket.”

Heet’s nine-point effort also was well above her 6.3 points per game average this season. The senior guard posted one assist and two rebounds in the win over Hancock.

“Rachel came in and played the point for us,” Feibig explained. “She’s got a lot going on her plate right now.”

Wuertz also recorded a solid defensive effort and notched four rebounds and one steal to compliment her nine-point effort against Hancock. She is second on the team in points with nine per game and third in rebounds with five per game.

“Alana’s play this year has been remarkable,” Feibig said. “She’s such a hard worker and her shooting has dramatically improved since last year.”

Up next for the Panthers is the Affton Cougars and senior forward Karly Corbin at 7 p.m. today — Dec. 9. Corbin leads the Cougars with 10.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game this season.

“They (Affton) have a new coach and I saw a quarter of their game against Du-Bourg,” Feibig said. “They like to play a zone defense, which of course we’re going to try and break.”