Lady Panthers play first home game Friday

RANGELY | Rangely’s lady Panthers opened up their season at the Meeker Cowboy Shootout in Meeker. On Thursday they played Moffat County. This was a tough fought game that they lost 50-41 after battling back from a 17 point deficit in the third quarter.
“We got ourselves into some foul trouble early in the second half,” said head coach Jimmie Mergelman. “I was pleased with our overall hustle and effort being our first time on the floor this season.”
Katelyn Brown finished with 16 points, Sarah Connor finished with nine and Skylar Thacker and Kassidee Brown both finished with 8.
“On Friday we bounced back from an opening loss and beat the JV team from Mesa Ridge High School (Colorado Springs) with a score of 58-39,” Mergelman said.
Kassidee Brown finished with 20 points, Skylar Thacker with 16, Katelyn Brown with 12, Halie Elam with six, Sarah Connor and Marlena Miller both added in two. It was nice to see our scoring spread around the team and our efficiency on the offensive end of the floor in the second half. We finished out the tournament strong by defeating Aspen on Saturday 60-28. Katelyn Brown finished with 30, Kassidee Brown with 15, Skylar Thacker with eight, Halie Elam with three, Sarah Connor and Raelynn Norman finished with two a piece also.
“I was pleased with our overall play for the weekend, although there are a lot of things for us to work on and get better at,” Mergelman said. Overall the Panthers placed fifth in the tournament with a 2-1 record. The JV and C-teams also played in the Meeker Cowboy Shootout and played well throughout the tournament. Both teams were able to improve in many facets of the game throughout the weekend and show much room for improvement. The lady Panthers first home game will be Friday against Plateau Valley. JV starts at 4:30 p.m., followed by varsity at 6 p.m.