RANGELY | Both Rangely eighth grade teams finished their seasons at the district tournament in Steamboat Springs on Feb. 9. The eighth grade B team started the day with a close win against Meeker. The Panthers led at the half 9-5 but found themselves tied 13-13 to start the fourth quarter. The girls played tough defense and only allowed Meeker two points in the fourth quarter to pull out the win, 17-15. Scoring for the Panthers were Morgan Ellis, six; Alyson Polley and Emma Smith, four each; Annika Cantrell, two; Kastyn Demboski, one.
The B team faced Steamboat in the championship game later in the day. The Panthers struggled to get on the scoreboard and found themselves down 14-2 at the half. Both the offense and defense stepped up in the second half, but not enough to overcome the first half deficit. Rangely lost the contest 22-15, their only loss of the season, and received second place in the tournament. The coaches were proud of the girl’s effort throughout the game and the season. Scoring in the game were Kastyn Dembowski, seven; Annika Cantrell, six; Emma Smith, two.
The A team started their day ready to play. They saw Steamboat Springs in their first contest of the day. The team played some of their best defense of the season holding Steamboat scoreless through three-quarters of play. The Panthers easily pulled out the win 21-10 to move on to the championship game. Scoring for the Panthers was Kadance Wagner, Kyrah Phelps and Kristiana Terry with six points each. Kastyn Dembowski also contributed three points.
The A team then faced Moffat County for the district championship. The Panthers played well as a team and worked hard throughout the game, but were unable to pull out a win against the Bullpups. Rangely ended the tournament in second with a loss and a final score of 18-39 in favor of Moffat County. Scoring for Rangely were Kristiana Terry, six; Kyrah Phelps, four; and scoring two points each were Kastyn Dembowski, Kadance Wagner, Rylee Allred and Annika Cantrell.