Panther Girls Extend Streak to Eleven Over ACGC, 48-39

County and conference rivals ACGC and Panorama met for the second time this season on Friday, with the girls' game having the same outcome as it has for the previous ten games--a win for the Panthers. The streak dates back to the 2016-2017 season which was the first school year of whole grade sharing by Adair-Casey and Guthrie Center.

This was a home game for the Chargers, and the result was closer than most of the eleven contests, with the final score being 48-39. The Panthers' ability to knock down three pointers played a significant part in the win, as they connected on six of eleven treys (18 points) while ACGC came up with only two scores (6 points) from beyond the arc--both by Charger sophomore Saige O'Brien. Three Panthers hit two treys each--Payton Beckman, Laci Rishel, and Ella Waddle.

But it was more than the three ball that determined the outcome. The constant pressure--a

2-2-1 full court press and a trapping 3-2 half court zone--by Panorama made it difficult for ACGC to get into its offense and get good looks at the basket.

It was a methodical win for the Panthers, as they took the lead for good at 8-5 when Beckman hit her first trey with five minutes gone in the initial quarter. They finished the quarter with a 13-8 lead and added a point or two to the lead in each quarter. By halftime the score was 27-21, and 35-27 at the end of three quarters.

The Chargers got within five points twice in the third quarter--at 30-25 when EmmaKay McClain made good on two free throws, and again at 32-27 when O'Brien scored with just over two minutes left in the quarter. But that was as close as the home team could get as Laci Richel nailed a trey with three seconds on the clock to give the Panthers an eight point cushion heading into the final frame. The Chargers never got closer that six points in the final frame.

Beckman and Richel each scored in double figures for the Panthers, with 18 and 12 points respectively. Angel Poldberg had 6 rebounds, while Richel dished out 4 assists and Beckman had 3 steals.

As a team the Panthers made 40% of its field goal tries, hitting on 14 of 35 attempts. They were 14 of 24 from the free throw line for 58%.

Alaina Bunde leading the Charger scoring with 12 points, while McClain and O'Brien each had 8. Bunde also led in rebounds with 8 and in steals with 2, while McClain dished out 4 assists.The Chargers were 13 of 36 from the floor for 36% that included 2 makes of 14 tries from beyond the arc. They shot well from the free throw line, connecting on 11 of 14 charity tosses for 79%.

Following the game second year Panorama coach Kylie Boettcher said, "We battled foul trouble all game, so we had to control the ball more offensively and keep the ball in our court."

Charger coach Brad Baudler saw some bright spots in his team's performance. "I thought we had a great defensive effort and made their best player work a lot. Offensively we moved the ball well but can't go on dry spells, and we also need to make layups. Altogether it was a really good effort and I like our chances in most games."

Score by quarter:

Pan 13 14 8 13--48

ACGC 8 13 6 12--39

Individual Panorama statistics: (TP-REB-ASSTS-STLS): Beckman (18-1-1-3) Storesund

(0-2-0-0) Richel (12-4-4-0) Waddle (9-5-2-2) Pohldberg (4-6-1-2) Boettcher (2-3-0-0)

Sellers (0-2-1-0) Welberg (3-4-0-3)

Charger statistics: Carlson (0-2-0-1) Dorsey (2-0-1-1) Young (6-5-0-1) McClain (8-2-4-1)

Bunde (12-8-0-2) Carney (0-0-0-0) O'Brien (8-4-0-1) Richter (3-1-0-0)