Alberton girls falter against Lady Blackhawks
Summer Crosby
The band and the crowd was loud Thursday night when the Lady Panthers met the Lady Blackhawks in Alberton. One could hardly hear the announcer as he read off the names of the Lady Panthers starting lineup. The Lady Panthers grabbed the ball right off the bat at tip off, but the Lady Blackhawks grabbed it right back and ran it down the court for a three point shot. A foul by the Lady Blackhawks on Olivia Lausch, gave the senior two free throw shots, which she made.
The first quarter moved quickly and the Lady Panthers found themselves unable to stop their opponent from scoring points. The Lady Blackhawks rapidly climbed up in point totals and at the end of the first quarter, the Lady Panthers trailed 5 to 16. The Lady Blackhawks continued to dominate the court during the second quarter and at halftime the Lady Panthers had only managed three points, 8 to 34.
The Lady Blackhawks outside shooting was putting the pressure on the Lady Panthers as the girls came back after halftime. The first two points of the third quarter went to the opponent, but Danielle Hanley scored a three point shot to match it. Still though, the Lady Panthers were falling behind and although they managed 10 points during the third quarter, the Lady Blackhawks managed many more and they finished the third quarter out 18 to 49.
The Lady Panthers couldn’t get past Seeley Swan’s defense and despite turning the pressure on and fighting hard throughout the fourth quarter for a comeback, the Lady Panthers lost 25 to 61.
On Saturday, the girls traveled to Hot Springs and played another tough game. They were down 14 points at halftime and ended up losing, 00-00. Coach Erik Johnson said that the team was pretty disappointed with the way things went down.
“We didn’t do a very good job at matching their intensity,” he said. “We didn’t box out very well and we gave them several opportunities to shoot with each possession and that really hurt us.”
On the positive side of things, Johnson said that the team handled the ball very well against Hot Springs and limited their turnovers against a team who is good at forcing turnovers.
“It’s tough to lose two games in a week, but hopefully we can learn from this and it will increase our desire to win. In a game, whether you win or lose, there are always opportunities to be successful,” he said. “We’re looking forward and looking to improve from this.”
Next up, the Lady Panthers will play at Lincoln on January 16.