Lady Panthers trot to break with 6-2 record

Clara Aucoin
GCN Senior Reporter

  A miserable schedule of four games in one week taught the Lady Panthers a lesson that not even they were ready to admit. They are a competitive bunch and with a little help, confidence, and a break or two, they could be finishing the season near the top of their 2-A league.

  When league play begins after the break, the Panthers can bring confidence earned during the last week. They overcame adversity, they came from behind, they struggled through injuries, and they overcame enough errors to sink a less talented team.

  After beating 3-A Sheridan Rams at home last Tuesday, the Panthers moved on to Shining Mountain on Thursday, Clear Creek on Friday, and Arrupe Jesuit on Saturday.

  The Shining Mountain battle began innocently enough. Ned got off to a quick 5-0 start, but Shining Mountain began to run, and they liked it. Too soon the Lions were up 5-8 and the Panthers were getting beat all over the court. Turnovers raised their ugly head and even a timeout did not help the Panthers. What did help the Panthers was for Shining Mountain to collapse under the stress of playing at 8,400 feet and for their big girl to pick up her third foul. She went to the bench, the Lion point guard had to take the bench because she couldn’t breath, and it looked good for the Panthers. But, nothing good lasts forever and the Panthers went to the half down 17-24.

  Pressing, trapping and grabbing was the Panthers’ plan for the second half. By midway the third quarter the Panthers had narrowed the deficit to 23-26, before a Kelly McCaffrey rebound and lay-up made the score 25-26. The Panthers began to roll.

  When pushed against the wall in the last quarter the Panthers abandoned all caution. They pushed, shoved, snarled and slapped, pulling off steal after steal. They fought to a 33-31 lead, and then when the Lions tied the game up, the Panthers showed how much they wanted the game and pushed their game to another level.

  The contest vacillated back and forth for several minutes, until Shining Mountain caught the Panthers looking on a spread court offense and sneaked in a back door basket. Not giving up, Carrie Zimbleman hit a break away for two and the 41-40 lead. A foul that put Shining Mountain on the line cost the Panthers nothing, but another outlet pass to Zimbleman was good for another basket and a three point cushion. In the final 16 seconds, the Panthers racked up another two baskets off steals and the final 47-41 score.

  Zimbleman finished with 19 points, seven rebounds, one assist, and 11 steals; McCaffrey had 11 points, 13 rebounds, one assist, and one steal; Kayla Steffek finished with four points, three rebounds, three assists, five blocks and three steals; Chelsea Chandler had six points, three rebounds, four assists and three blocks; and Leigh Ann Slinger put in five points, with one steal.

  The stress may have unhinged something within the Lady Panthers’ noggins, because when they took the floor the next night against a bad Clear Creek team, the girls could not do much right. They suffered through 31 turnovers, many a case of simple carelessness. Scoring was barely present; the Panthers were even down at the half. But the girls got it together and roared back in the third quarter. At the end, they won an ugly game with a narrow 28-23 victory.