Austin girls off to 5-1 start

Austin shot 50% from the floor in the first half Wednesday during a lopsided girls’ basketball win over visiting Cowanesque Valley. The Panthers (5-1) took a 41-11 halftime lead and won 63-20.

Rayna Valenti blistered the nets for 29 pointts. Whitney Crosby scored 22 points and had seven rebounds. Casey Boucher dished out nine assists and had four steals, while Ashley Kio had five assists, five steals and seven rebounds.

“We were on fire in the first half,” Austin coach Dick Logue said. “That hot shooting combined with strong defense sums up this game.”

On Monday night, the Panthers used a team effort to rally back from a 17-16 halftime deficit and knock off visiting Kane, 46-34.

“Our pressure defense paid off and we got some quality minutes from our bench,” Logue said.

Crosby (8 rebounds, 4 steals) and Valenti (4 steals) each scored 15 points to lead the Panther offense. Kio had seven rebounds and four assists. Hillary Gordnier and Lisa Fowler each had six rebounds.

Austin was due to play at Elkland Thursday night. Results weren’t available by press time. The Panthers return to action on Tuesday and Wednesday in the annual Port Allegany Holiday Tournament.