Pioneers drop first game of conference play

The Pioneers took to the road and traveled to Palm Beach State for their first conference game of 2017. When the Pioneers took to the court they were not ready for the aggressive defensive play from the Panthers. A series of quick back to back turnovers immediately put a halt to IRSC's efforts to get into a rhythm. Before the River knew it the first quarter was over and they were down 32-12. Second quarter saw the same type of defensive style forcing the Pioneers to stay off balance and only producing another 10 points. The Panthers had a choke hold on the Pioneers going into the half down 56-22.

Second half saw an entirely different team step on the floor for the Pioneers. IRSC regrouped and settled into their defense creating stops and forcing Palm Beach into turnovers. Annette Dukes helped to lead the offensive charge against Palm Beach as they went on a 23-19 run in the third quarter to help chip away the gap. But it was the break out moment of freshman Miracle Simon that gave the Pioneers the boost they needed to go on another fourth quarter run outscoring the Panthers 28-17. Simon hit three big three point shots, two back to back, that keep the Pioneers determined to make a last quarter comeback. But time was not on their side as the clock expired and the Pioneers fell 92-73. The Pioneers despite the lose, improved in many areas of their program that will only help to propel them forward.

Freshman Miracle Simon finished the game with 21 points, Annette Dukes 14 points and Elaine Field 13 points. The Pioneers move to 0-1 in conference play. They travel next to Hialeah, FL to take on ASA-Miami this Saturday at 2:00pm