By John RittenhouseThe Ellsworth girls’ basketball team opened the 2003-04 season by rolling to a 52-36 win over Westbrook-Walnut Grove in Westbrook Tuesday.The Panthers dominated play through three quarters by doubling (44-22) W-WG’s scoring output.The Chargers outscored Ellsworth’s reserves 14-8 in the fourth period, but it wasn’t enough to spoil an impressive first outing for the Panthers."I was very pleased with the way things went for us," said Panther coach Dean Schnaible. "We got the chance to play all 11 of our players, so our entire varsity team got to see a lot of action."With Amy Timmer leading the way, Ellsworth took control of the game in the first half.Timmer netted nine of her team-high 15 points in the first half to help the Panthers sport 16-9 and 30-16 leads at the quarter breaks.Ellsworth extended the difference to 22 points (44-22) by outscoring the Chargers 14-6 in the third period before settling for a 16-point victory in the end.Along with the play of Timmer, coach Schnaible was impressed with Laurel Drenth’s seven-point, 10-rebound, seven assist, five-deflection and four-steal performance."I was very pleased with Laurel’s play. She displayed pin-point passing, and played a very good floor game. Amy Tiesler played well in the paint, too. She’s not afraid to go against the bigger girls on the inside," he said.Brittney Kramer added 10 points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots to the winning cause. Marla Groen chipped in eight rebounds.The 1-0 Panthers play in Cottonwood Friday before hosting Edgerton Monday.Box scoreTiesler 0 0 0-0 0, Majchrzak 1 0 0-0 2, Leuthold 2 0 1-2 5, Kvaale 0 0 0-0 0, Ly.Drenth 2 1 0-0 7, Lr.Drenth 1 0 5-6 7, Lewis 0 0 0-0 0, Groen 3 0 0-0 6, Kramer 4 0 2-3 10, Timmer 7 0 1-1 15, Peters 0 0 0-0 0.Team statisticsEllsworth: 21 of 53 field goals (40 percent), nine of 11 free throws (82 percent), 38 rebounds, 12 turnovers.W-WG: 14 of 54 field goals (26 percent), six of 18 free throws (33 percent), 26 rebounds, 15 turnovers.
