Special to the Herald
Winning 18 games in the regular season, winning a regular season 1A/2A Western Slope League Championship, scoring 90 points in a single game, adding two more wins to the win column, and Coach Mergelman winning her 175-game of her career were the numerous headlines for the Rangely lady Panthers this last weekend. To top it off, they brought home their second straight District Five championship. With the district title, the lady Panthers jumped to the number two overall seed for the 2024 CHSAA state basketball tournament.
In game one of the district tournament, the Panthers took on the Hayden Tigers, whom they defeated 64-34 earlier in the season. The Tigers defeated the Soroco Rams in the first round of the District Five tournament earlier in the week to set up the rematch with the Panthers.
The Panthers jumped out to a 14-point lead by the end of the first quarter. Leading the first quarter scoring was junior Miah Wren, who came out firing from behind the arc and connecting consistently. Wren scored 17 points in the quarter, followed by junior Ashlynn Ducey with four points, junior Emeree Wagner with three, senior Annika Cantrell with two, and senior Ryann Mergleman with one.
In the second quarter, the Panthers outscored the Tigers 19-7, which pushed the lead to 46-20. The Tigers were able to corral Wren some in the quarter, but Ducey scored consistently for the Panthers with six points to lead the way. Cantrell added four to her total, Mergelman added four, Wren three, and senior Kastyn Dembowski scored two.
During the third quarter, Rangely poured on the scoring, adding 30 points to their side of the scoreboard while only allowing three. Wren continued to harass the Tigers with her scoring as she added 16 points in the third quarter. Wren was followed by Ducey, who scored seven points; Wagner and Cantrell scored two, and Debowksi added one point to her total.
With the Panthers up 53 points to start the fourth quarter, the clock would only stop for free throws and timeouts. The five junior varsity players entered the game, and the Lady Panthers could sense they were close to breaking the program record of 85 points in a single game. The junior varsity players secured the new record as they scored 14 points. Sophomore Aubrianna Tapia led the players with 12 points, while fellow sophomore Addison Scotts scored two. The final score ended with the Panthers victorious by a score of 90-27. The win against the Tigers was Head Coach Jimmie Mergleman’s 175 total win for her coaching career. She was presented with a banner showcasing her career milestone. With the win, the Panthers advanced to the championship game on Saturday against the West Grand Mustangs, who defeated the Plateau Valley Cowboys Friday.
The Panthers had one thing on their minds when they took the floor against the West Grand Mustangs. When the quarter ended, the Panthers held a 27-3 lead. Ryann Mergelman and Annika Cantrell scored six points to lead in Panther scoring. Wren netted five points along with classmate Wagner. The Panthers forced nine turnovers for the Mustangs with their stifling full-court press defense, for which they’ve become known around the state.
The second quarter proved more difficult and their scoring at-will mentality as the Mustangs outscored them nine to eight respectively. Wagner led the Panthers in scoring with four points, followed by Mergleman and Wren with two. The Panthers forced 10 turnovers on defense against the Mustangs and took to halftime with a 35-12 lead.
Scoring in the third quarter came much easier for the Panthers as they outscored the Mustangs 22-13. Keeping true to the first two quarters, they forced 11 Mustang turnovers in the third quarter. Ashlynn Ducey took over offensively for the Lady Panthers to lead the third quarter, scoring eight points, followed by Wren with six. Junior Miley Chism scored her four points, all in the third quarter.
With the mercy rule in effect again for the Panthers and their fifth game in a row to do so, the varsity players gave way to the junior varsity players in the fourth quarter. The Lady Panthers closed the game with a 66-27 victory over the Mustangs and secured the District Five Championship for the second year in a row. Offensively, the Lady Panthers were led by Ducey with 15 points, Wren with 14, Mergelman with 12, Wagner with nine, Cantrell with eight, Chism with four, Dembowski with two, and Scott with two.
With the win, the Panthers secured their spot as a host site for the 2024 CHSAA regional tournaments, serving as the first two rounds of the CHSAA State Basketball Tournament for 2A. The Panthers, ranked in the top five all season based on the CHSAA Selection Seeding Index, earned their highest season ranking with the number two overall seed. As the number two seed, they will host the #31 seed, Twin Peaks Charter Academy (14-6, 6-0) from the 3A/2A Foothills League. The game will be played at 6 p.m., followed by the matchup of #17 seed Heritage Christian Academy (15-6, 7-2) from the 3A/2A/1A Mile High League against Evangelical Christian Academy (14-7, 4-1) from the 2A Black Forest League. That game will be played at 7 p.m. The winners of game one and game two will play each other at noon on Saturday, March 2, in Rangely. The winner of that game will be crowned as Region Two Champion and will move on to the Great 8 round of the CHSAA 2A State Basketball tournament at Ball Arena.
