A win for the lady Cowboys vs. rival lady Panthers

MEEKER I The lady Cowboys faced off against the Rangely Panthers Saturday, Jan. 21 for an important victory against their county rivals which has kept them on the “teams to watch” list for Colorado Preps Network. Meeker has teetered on the edge of the top 10 in the state 2A standings and this game will keep them near that mark. After defeating Hayden in a conference game in early January, Meeker stole the number 10 spot for a week. Even though the lady Cowboys were bumped by Limon and Vangaurd last week, they remain on the watch list.
For the third game in a row, Meeker opened with a three-pointer and then added a quick bucket off a steal to lead 5-0 within the first minute of the game. The shooting was cold after that as the Panthers answered and both teams added a couple baskets each to round out the quarter 10-11.
Early in the second quarter, Meeker forced some critical turnovers with their intense defense and full court press earning a quick lead. The lady Panthers pulled their press and Meeker stretched out seven-point margin with three minutes left. Meeker continued to hit the boards and attack on defense, but the basket was sealed. As the clock wound down, the Panthers closed the gap and took another lead at half time, 27-28.
The score toggled back and forth in the third quarter until it deadlocked at 33-34 at the three minute mark. Meeker’s full court pressure continued to cause costly turnovers for the Panthers as Meeker sparked offensively dishing in seven points while holding the Panthers from scoring. The lady Cowboys banked on their six point lead and came on fire and scrapping.
Leading 40-34 going into the fourth, Meeker’s merciless full-court press persisted as they held their six-point lead. Late in the quarter, the Panthers were forced to foul and the lady Cowboys put the game away at the line, 54-42. Head coach Greg Chintala was “very pleased overall with the game,” and felt that the lady Cowboys, “executed well during the game, but were just cold shooting the ball the first half.”
Meeker’s junior varsity played earlier in the evening against the Panthers in Rangely. These lady Cowboys also benefited from their unrelenting press and persistent offense as they added another easy win to their tally sheet. On Friday the lady Cowboy C team met up with Vail Mountain to battle it out at Meeker High School. It was anybody’s game as the score zigzagged back and forth between the teams. When the dust cleared, Vail Mountain was on top by four.
Meeker travels to Steamboat on Wednesday, Jan. 25, to play the Sailors and on to Walden for a conference standing game against the North Park Wildcats on Saturday, Jan. 28. This conference standing game will influence the lady Cowboy’s pursuit into the top 10.