Lady Panthers open season with two wins at the Cowboy Shootout

RANGELY | The Rangely girls’ basketball team opened the 2016 season in the White River Electric Cowboy Shootout in Meeker, where they won two games. The lady Panthers lost to the Cedaredge Bruins in the first round but came back to beat Mesa Ridge JV and Nucla to finish with a win and a fifth place finish. Rangely will play the Plateau Valley Cowboys this Friday in Collbran.
“I was pleased with what we saw and the potential we have,” Rangely head coach Quinton Kent said after the tournament. “We have plenty to clean up but we are ahead of last year and that’s the good thing. Our girls played hard this weekend.
In the first game of the season, the Panthers were tied with Cedaredge at halftime but fell behind by eight in the third quarter and lost 34-46.
“We played them well, we just ran out of gas and missed easy shots that could have kept us in the game,” Coach Kent said. “We give credit to them (Cedaredge), they are a well coached team and they were able to extend their lead.”
Katelyn Brown led the Panthers with 14 points and Lindzey Thacker scored 10 and pulled down nine rebounds against Cedaredge.
The lady Panthers jumped on Mesa Ridge, taking a 26-4 lead after the first quarter and beat them 51-40 to play for fifth place.
“It was the best quarter of play I’ve seen since I started coaching,” coach Kent, a five-year veteran said. “The first quarter showed we have the potential to score some points and as the season goes, which will be nice.”
Katye Allred led the team with 18 points and eight rebounds. Kaylalle Wyman also had eight rebounds against Mesa Ridge and Brown scored 15 points.
“We got off to a good start again against Nucla,” coach Kent said. “Katelyn hit six three-pointers in the first half.”
Brown finished the game with 22 points and was also named to the all-tournament team for her play.
Allred finished with a double/double, scoring 11 points and grabbing 10 rebounds against Nucla.
“We were looking for revenge after losing to them by two points on last second free throws last season,” coach Kent remembered. “In the second quarter we figured out how to really move the ball against their zone. Our defense also tightened up and we outscored them 17-4 in the second quarter to open up a 30-16 halftime lead. It was a good team win.”
Rangely’s JV team won three games, beating Aspen 42-18, then a one-point victory against Soroco and a three-point win in their final game.