Lady Panthers advance

RANGELY I The Lady Panthers lost their final game of the regular season but won the district pigtail game Tuesday last, advancing to the final four of the district tournament this weekend in Paonia. Rangely lost to Meeker 40-51 in the final game of the regular season then beat Soroco 48-42 to advance to the district tournament which will determine regional seeding.
In the final game of the regular season, Rangely trailed 6-16 at the end of the first quarter but cut that margin in half by halftime.
“I was proud of the effort of my team,” head coach Quinton Kent said of his team’s play against Meeker. “We played hard. We were down five at half and we responded well in the third quarter, fighting back into the game and even taking a lead for a minute.”
Senior Quincey Thacker scored 10 of her 18 total points in the third quarter and classmate Brittany Babineaux hit three, three-pointers including two in the fourth quarter during a Rangely run.
“Ultimately, however, Meeker made more plays, we struggled against their zone in the fourth quarter and they pulled away,” Kent said. “Meeker is a good team and deserve credit for the win.”
Babineaux finished with 11, Chelsea Ficken scored six and Kelsey Prosser finished with five against Meeker.
The Lady Panthers welcomed the Lady Rams from South Routt County (Soroco) to Rangely, then ended their season with a 48-42 victory.
“We played great at times and not very good at all at times but we did what we needed to do to get the win,” Kent said of the district pigtail game. “Multiple times we built double digit leads only to see them dwindle away.”
Rangely led 21-15 at the end of the first quarter, where Thacker scored all but two of her game leading high of 15 points. The Panthers led 27-19 at half and 41-35 going into the final quarter.
“Soroco was scrappy and they kept coming at us,” Kent said. “I was happy with the way we responded to their runs with runs of our own that pushed the lead back up to where we could hold on for the win.”
Ficken finished in double figures with 11, Prosser and Aimee Hogan each scored four, while seniors Leslie Hernandez and Shelby Neiberger each made a basket in the second quarter.
The Lady Panthers will play Paonia at the district tournament Friday at 6 p.m.