Following a lengthy road trip to one end of the state of Illinois on Wednesday, the Cobras hopped back on the bus to make the trek to the Illinois-Missouri border to take on John Wood Saturday.  Similar to the victory on Wednesday, Parkland saved their best for the second half in pulling away for a 74-61 win over the Blazers. John Wood came out running and put the pressure on the Cobras in the opening quarter thanks to several transition points and led 19-17. The second quarter then saw John Wood live at the free throw line as 9 of their 17 points came at the charity stripe during the period, yet Parkland continued to hang around and found themselves down just 36-34 at the half.

Despite entering the final quarter knotted up at 51, the Cobras gradually began to seize control in the second half thanks to a key defensive adjustment. During that stretch, Parkland scored on 10 of 13 possessions to end the 3rd quarter and start the 4th. By that point the momentum had swung in the Cobras favor as PC outscored the Blazers 23-10 in the final period.  Key during that stretch were four clutch 3-pointers, the first by Maddy Brouwer and the next 3 by Ryan Dooley.

Parkland had the advantage in most statistical categories in the 2nd half by shooting 57%, owning a 10-4 scoring advantage at the free throw line, and winning the battle of the boards 20-12. The Cobras were led in scoring by Ryan Dooley with 21 points (including 5 for 8 from 3) while also having a team-high in assists with 8. Micah Tapscott (14 points, 11 rebounds) and Janiece Thomas (11 points, 10 rebounds) both registered key double-doubles. Crystal Mathis also chipped in 13 points.

With the win, Parkland improves to 2-1 in conference play and 15-5 overall. The Cobras return to action at home on Wednesday against Danville (0-3 3-17) starting at 5:30 PM.