RANGELY | Region 6 Champions is now another title the Rangely lady Panthers can add to the list of accomplishments for the 2022-2023 season. As many people have noticed, the team is young, with an average age of 15 years and eight months between the 14 players on the roster. However, that has not slowed them down. Riding a 10-game win streak into the Region 6 playoff tournament hosted in their home gym, the Panthers had their eyes set on wins 11 and 12.
“Region 6 Champions” is another accomplishment to add to the list for the Rangely lady Panthers’ 2022-2023 season. The girls will compete at state this weekend. | COURTESY PHOTO
As the Region 6 tournament host and the number seven seed, the Panthers opened against the 26-seeded Bulldogs from Elbert High School. Elbert was determined to pull off an upset for the entire game.
The Panthers led at the end of the first quarter with stellar guard play from their young front court made up of three sophomores: Miah Wren (20), Ashlynn Ducey (14) and Miley Chism (23). However, these three players proved too quick for the Elbert ball handlers as the Panthers had three turnovers for points against the Bulldogs.
At the end of the first quarter, the young Rangely team held a four point advantage at 12-8.
Junior Ryann Mergelman (13) led all Panthers in scoring with six points. Mergelman proved very tough for the Bulldogs with her athleticism under the basket. Also scoring for the Panthers in the quarter was junior Annika Cantrell (3) with four points. Chism (23) added two points in the first quarter to bring the Panthers to 12 points.
The Bulldogs changed up their press breaker, which put the Panthers in foul trouble in the second quarter and forced multiple substitutions by the Panthers. Elbert made a minor run during the second quarter as they scored nine points to Rangely’s six. Cantrell added two points to her four from the first quarter. Wren and Ducey added two points each for the Panthers’ six points in the quarter. Holding a one point lead, the Panthers entered halftime ready to make adjustments.
Looking to put ball pressure back on the Elbert ball handlers and find ways to the basket, the Panthers took the court for the third quarter. However, only three Panthers scored in the quarter for five points. Cantrell (3) and Ducey (14) were able to score one basket each for two points, followed by Mergelman (13) with one point for the Panthers’ five points in the quarter. The Panthers struggled in getting the ball to fall for points in the quarter, but they did not let that deter them from taking shots.
“We know we could score like any other team in the state, so we always stick with the saying of keep shooting,” head coach Jimmie Mergelman was heard after each Panther missed a shot..
The encouragement from the coaching staff did pay off in the fourth quarter. Finding themselves down five points to the Bulldogs, the Panthers came out in their familiar man-defense fashion, but against different players than what each Panther was accustomed to. One switch was putting the Panthers post player, Annika Cantrell, who usually prowls the paint and pulls down rebounds in mass amounts, on the Bulldog’s best ball handler. With Cantrell’s tall frame and long reach, she shut down the Bulldog’s top scorer of the game. This allowed the Panthers to chip away and take back the lead with a 19-point effort.
Miah Wren (20) and Mergelman (13) led all Panthers to score six points each. Ducey (14) was second in scoring in the quarter with five of her nine total points. Chism added her last point of the night by making two freethrows for the fourth quarter effort. This was enough to win the round of 32 team games and advance to play in the sweet 16 the next day in Rangely. Mergelman led all Panthers in scoring with 14 points and rebounding 11. This was Mergelman’s fourth double-double of the season.
In the sweet 16 round, the Panthers squared off against the number 10 seeded Akron Rams.
The Rams secured their birth into the sweet 16 round by defeating the Evangelical Christian Eagles the night before after the conclusion of the Rangely vs. Elbert game. The Panthers knew they had a tough match-up with the Rams. The Rams were regularly ranked in the top 10 during the regular season. They play in the 3A/2A Lower Platte league.
The Panthers came out quickly in the game as Ashlynn Ducey (14) secured the tip-off from Annika Cantrell (3) and went the distance to the basket for a layup to put the Panthers up two to zero. This was the last time the Panthers held the lead until late in the fourth quarter.
The Rams could come down on their first possession, drain a three-point shot, and hold onto the lead for the first, second and third quarters.
In the first half, the Panthers were paced in scoring by Mergelman (13), Ducey (14), and Wren (20), who had six points, six points, and five points, respectively. Sophomore Emmeree Wagner (1) added four points for the Panther’s 21 first-half points. The Panthers were down nine points, 21-30, heading into the third quarter.
Making another out-of-ordinary switch on defense, the Panthers put Mergelman (13) on the Ram’s leading scorer, who had 16 points in two quarters. Mergelman and the rest of the Panthers slowed the Rams scoring in the third quarter as the Panthers held the Rams to single-digit scoring for the first time.
Heading into the fourth quarter, the Panthers held the momentum as they had chipped away Ram’s nine-point lead to only three points. Looking to fresh legs for the quarter, Mergelman (13) and Ducey (14) played great defense on Kinsey Grauer, who had 23 points through three quarters. However, this switch proved too much for Grauer as the Panthers continued to chip away at the Ram’s lead, which was consistently at six points for much of the game, with their largest lead of 11 points in the third quarter.
With the Rams leading and 2:34 seconds left in the game, the Panthers found themselves down one point at a time, and the ball in their hands of their sharp shooting Miah Wren (20), who was still looking to find her groove for the game behind the arch.
That groove quickly returned when Wren (20) sank a three-point shot from the left mid-arch area to put the Panthers up two points. The image put the gym full of Rangely parents, siblings, grandparents, alums and other members of the town plus surrounding towns into a frenzy that shot the Panthers with new energy. After Ducey (14) forced the Rams into yet another unwanted shot opportunity and a rebound by Cantrell, the Panthers pushed the ball up the court, where Chism (23) was fouled and sent to the freethrow line. Chism (23) sank her first freethrow putting the Panthers up by three points. Chism’s next freethrow attempt rimmed out, but the rebound was secured by Cantrell (3), and she was able to score the bucket for a three-point play putting the Panthers up six points.
The Rams did not make another shot after less than two minutes left in the game from the stellar defense by Mergelman (13) and Ducey (14). The Panthers made another freethrow to hold on to the seven-point victory. The hard-fought win sent the Panthers to the next round of the CHSAA 2A State Championship, what is known as the Great Eight. The Panthers will play at the Budweiser Events Center on Thursday, March 9, at 7 p.m. The Panthers will be the visiting team as they take on the number two seed, Sedgwick County Cougars. The Panthers will take their 19-4 overall record against the Cougar’s overall record of 19-5. With a win against the Cougars, the Panthers would advance and play the winner of the No. 3 seeded Burlington Tigers and the No. 6 seeded Del Norte Tigers at 7 p.m. Friday at the Budweiser Events Center. However, if the Panthers fall to Sedgwick County, they will play the Burlington vs. Del Norte loser at 11:45 a.m. Friday at the Budweiser Events Center.
Special to the Herald Times
