The Panther Girls Basketball team had a very successful run last week, racking up wins against Van Meter on Monday, Madrid on Tuesday and Exira-EHK on Thursday.
“Our composure down the stretch paid off,” Coach Boettcher said of the Panthers’ 55-30 defeat of the Van Meter Bulldogs. “We give credit to Van Meter for their pace of play to start the game. It slowed us down. We had to find our defensive pressure to create opportunities for transition ad secondary break points.”
Points came from multiple directions, and the team put all their might into the win. Tyme Boettcher, Jaidyn Sellers and Morgan Crees led in points and rebounds for the Panthers, and Waddle, Boettcher and Hambleton led in assists.
The Panther girls took on the Tigers from Madrid Tuesday and pulled away with the 62-29 win.
“With back-to-back game nights, I was pleased with our performance, especially defensively,” said Coach Boettcher. “Offensively, our ball movement continued to improve as the game went on which gave us great looks at the basket.”
Boettcher led the Panthers with 27points. Sellers added 12, and Mia Waddle scored 10. Sellers led in rebounds with 10, and Waddle had 5 assists.
On Thursday night the Panthers, now ranked second in the state, traveled to play number-15-ranked Exira-EHK, and they headed home with that 54-43 win.
“Tonight we had players step up and come up with key baskets and defensive stops,” said Coach Boettcher.
Waddle led with 17 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists. Boettcher added 14 points, and Sellers scored 11 points and 12 rebounds. Crees came away with 5 rebounds and 5 assists.
After last week, the Panthers are now 17-0 overall and 12-0 in the conference. Their next game is Monday, Jan. 29 at home against number-three-ranked Martensdale St. Mary’s.
Monday is also Senior Night, and the Panther y will be recognized between the girls and boys varsity games. Fans are encouraged to wear purple for Alpha-1 Awareness Night.
By contrast, the Panther boys basketball team lost their contests last week against the same three schools.
On Monday the boys hosted Van Meter at home and were unable to come out with the win, with the Bulldogs coming out on top 68-56.
The Panthers were hitting the boards and coming out with the points, but the Bulldogs had the upper hand in the end. Freshman Trey Boettcher and sophomore A. J. Draper were the top scorers with 15 points each, followed by Braylon Dawes with 14.
On Tuesday night the Panthers hosted the Madrid Tigers and were again unable to come away with a win. The Tigers won 67-52. Multiple Panthers were on the score board that night.
The Thursday night road trip to Exira-EHK also led to a 66-56 loss by the Panthers.
Sophomore A. J. Draper led the Panthers in scoring, and other Panthers contributing included Maddox Hammerstrom, Trey Boettcher, Braylon Dawes, Jaxson Stauffer and Ashton Stauffer.
The Panther boys are now 10-7 overall. Their next game is Monday, Jan. 29 at home against Martensdale St. Mary’s. Monday is also Senior Night, and the Panther y will be recognized between the girls and boys varsity games. Fans are encouraged to wear purple for Alpha-1 Awareness Night.
