Lady Panthers squelch Cowboys, drop one to Cedaredge Bruins

By Colt Allred
Special to the Herald Times
RBC | The lady Panthers started their weekend big with a win against their county rivals, the Meeker Cowboys. The game was not all smooth sailing for the Panthers who got off to a very slow start, getting outscored 3-14 in the first quarter. Whatever head coach Jimmie Mergelman told the squad at the quarter break must have been effective, however, because the Lady Panthers were able to make up the 11 point deficit and even take the lead, completely shutting out the Cowboys in the second quarter.
After the half, both teams came out swinging, and once again it was the lady Cowboys squad that led in total scoring. Going into the fourth quarter neck and neck, both teams knew that it was going to be a game that went all the way to the final buzzer. The Panthers were able to hit some free throws at the end which would ultimately win them the game with a final score of 42-37. The high scorer of the game was Rangely’s Katelyn Brown, who put up 21 points, half of the team’s total. Brown was followed by her sister Kassidee Brown with nine points, and Skylar Thacker with six. The Cowboys’ squad was led by Julia Dinwiddie who put nine points on the scoreboard. Dinwiddie was trailed by Megan Shelton with eight and Kenzie Turner with five. While those were the point leaders, every single player on the lady Cowboys bench scored.
After their big win against Meeker the night before, the lady Panthers were unable to top the Cedaredge Bruins on Friday night. Right from the jump both teams were ready to play. The Bruins were able to gain a small lead at the end of the first quarter, but the Panthers did not fare so well after the quarter break. The Panther squad struggled with the full court press in the second quarter and were only able to score four points against Cedaredge’s 13 points.
When halftime was over the Panthers came out swinging though and flipped the tables on the Bruins, outscoring the 3A team 13-8, but the Panthers were still down 24-31 going into the fourth quarter. The Panther squad fought hard, but were unable to dig all the way back with a final score of 34-43. The Panthers scoring was once again led by senior Katlyn Brown who was able to put up 14 points. The next highest scorer was junior Skylar Thacker who managed to earn nine points for her team. Mackenzie Cochrane and Halie Elam both added four points and Kassidee Brown contributed three.
After this weekend the Lady Panthers have an overall record of 8-3 and are 2-1 in league play. The Panthers play the DeBeque Dragons at home on Friday, Jan. 19 at 5:30 p.m. and then travel to North Park the following day for more league games.