Panthers Lose to Top Ranked Wolverines in Semifinals

The Panorama girls' basketball team learned why Dike-New Hartford is ranked number one in class 2A, as the Wolverines defeated the Panthers 67-23 in a semifinal game at Wells Fargo Arena.

The Panthers hung with D-NH for the first quarter despite falling behind 11-0 in the early going. Panorama had a 9-0 run over the last four minutes of the quarter to make the score

11-9 at the quarter's end. Payton Beckman scored seven of the nine points during the Panther run.

The bottom fell out in the second quarter when D-NH went on a scoring binge that produced nineteen points while the Panthers could muster only six points. The deficit increased to fifteen points at 30-15 by halftime.

Following the halftime break the Wolverines had a huge third quarter, scoring twenty six points while holding Panorama to just six points. Beckman scored four points for the Panthers including a trey, while Laci Richel added a layup.

The Panthers added just eight points to their score after the intermission which included a scoreless fourth quarter. The Wolverines tallied thirty seven points in the second half to reach the final of 67-23.

D-NH dominated in every offensive statistical category, including points scored the paint, 42-8; points scored off of turnovers, 28-5; second chance points, 11-0; fast break points, 10-4; and bench points, 24-4. It is clear why D-NH is so highly regarded, as this Panorama team is the best 2A team in southwest Iowa.

Beckman led the Panthers in scoring with 14 points and in rebounds with 8. As a team Panorama shot just 24% for the game on 9 makes out of 38 tries. The team was successful on 3 of 20 three point attempts. The Panthers committed an uncharacteristic 20 turnovers for the game. The Wolverines press had a lot to do with that.

The Panthers closed out the season with a school record twenty five wins against just two losses.

"If the season has to end, we like that it ended here, surrounded by the best basketball in the state," Panther coach Kylee Boettcher commented following the loss.

"This was a record breaking year that now will raise the bar for Panorama basketball. I am so proud of these girls and how they demonstrate what it means to be a Panther. Their love for each other, the game, and their community is what it is all about."

Score by quarter:

Panorama 9 6 8 0--23

D-NH 11 19 26 11--67

Panorama statistics: (TP-REB-ASTS-STLS: Waddle(2-3-1-1) Beckman(14-8-1-1) Richel(2-0-1-1)

Jaidyn Sellers(1-6-0-2) Burns(0-0-0-0) Hamilton(0-1-0-1) Nelson(0-0-0-0) Kent(0-0-0-0)

Boettcher(4-1-0-0) Laabs(0-0-0-0) Lutz(0-0-0-0) Jazmyn Sellers(0-0-0-0) Steenblock(0-0-0-0)

Welberg(0-0-0-0)