With two minutes to go, the Lady Panthers lost an eight-point lead on Saturday, Jan.12, to fall 37-33 to the visiting McIntosh Lady Chiefs.
“Toward the end of the game, we couldn’t find a way to score and they were taking some big shots,” junior point guard Katie Wilson said. “It was a frustrating loss because we were so close to winning.”
The game was a constant back-and-forth battle from tip-off to buzzer. The Lady Panthers led the whole first quarter while making significant personnel changes, a testament to the depth of their bench.
“[McIntosh] is fundamentally sound. We [had] to be at our best to face them,” head coach Shane Ratliff said.
No significant lead would be pulled by either team as the score would flip-flop throughout the second and third quarter. Late in the fourth, the Lady Panthers’ press defense, combined with McIntosh turnovers, would put them in the lead by eight.
Having little success with three-point shooting all game, the Lady Chiefs started to mesh and put together a streak that would propel them over the Lady Panthers with under two minutes to go. A late turnover by the Mill and last-minute foul attempts would run out the clock to secure a McIntosh victory.
The Lady Panthers will get a chance to redeem their loss at McIntosh at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 5, but they know it’s going to be tough.“The Chiefs [are] one of the best teams we face this year,” Ratliff said.
His girls “feed off the energy” at The Mill but they have to be prepared to handle the noise at McIntosh. It will be a crucial test for the Lady Panthers who have high hopes of post-season play.
In their game against Whitewater, the Lady Panthers dominated the Lady Wildcats, 68-28. Each Panther scored at least three points. Wilson led the scoring with 14 points, and junior Lexie Pappas had 12.
Wilson rejoined the team for this game after being out with an injury. In earlier game against Mt. Zion, she suffered a sprain and an impact fracture to her left wrist.
This past Tuesday, the Lady Panthers rebounded after their loss to McIntosh with a trampling of the Northgate Lady Vikings, 58-19.