Special to the Herald Times
RANGELY | Looking to stay atop the 2A Western Slope league, the lady Panthers faced the two teams below them in the standings. The 3-0 Hayden Tigers traveled to Rangely for the challenge of the top spot with both teams undefeated. The Panthers jumped out to an early lead and never looked back.
The first quarter ended with the Panthers leading 13-2. Rangely did not back down in the second quarter, outscoring the Tigers 13 to six. The offensive barrage gave the Panthers a 20-point advantage at halftime, 28-8. The Panthers were outscored by the Tigers 11-9 and 14-12 in the third and fourth quarters respectively but still came out on top at the end of the game by 16 point, winning 49-33.
Junior Annika Cantrell led in the attack as she dominated the paint. Cantrell ended the game with her first double-double of the season as she scored 16 points and secured 11 rebounds for her squad. Sophomore Miah Wren was the next leading scorer with 12 points and seven rebounds. Miley Chism, also a sophomore, added eight points with three rebounds. Rounding out the rest of the scoring were junior Ryann Mergelman with five, and sophomores Lexi LeBleu, Katelyn Cox and Ashlynn Ducey with two points each.
With the win, the lady Panthers are at the top of the 2A Western Slope league with a perfect 4-0. The loss knocked the Tigers to second place.
With the win against the Tigers, the Lady Panthers traveled to Kremmling to take on the West Grand Mustangs. The Mustangs were tied for third place in the Western Slope league with DeBeque entering their contest with the lady Panthers. Looking to continue their winning streak in league, the Panthers came out in their usually defensively aggressive manner but they could not match their play on offense to their play on defense. The Panthers outscored the Mustangs in the first and second quarters but only held a two-point advantage over the Mustangs at halftime, 17-15.
Cantrell again earned a double-double with 12 points and 18 rebounds against the Mustangs to lead the Panther offense. Sophomores Wren and Ducey scored 12 and 11 points respectively. Ducey was one rebound shy of her first double-double of the season as she secured nine rebounds for the Panthers. Next in scoring was Mergelman with six points. Junior Kastyn Dembowski scored one point for the Panthers. Dembowski’s shut-down defense was key to the Panthers success in the second half as she held the Mustang’s leading scorer — who came into the game averaging 16 points per game — to only 11 points. The Panthers ended the game with their fifth win in league play, 42-30.
The girls look to continue their winning streak traveling to Grand Junction on Thursday, Feb. 2 to take on the Caprock Eagles. The Eagles enter the game with a 1-5 league record and 7-7 overall. On Saturday, Feb. 4, the lady Panthers will host the third place DeBeque Dragons. The home games will start at 1 p.m. Saturday.
