Lady Tigers win over Lady Panthers
Summer Crosby
The St. Regis Lady Tigers were out for a win Thursday night, when they played against county rival, the Alberton Panthers. The first quarter was rough for the girls. They put the first points on the board, but less than three minutes into the quarter, the Alberton Panthers had the lead, 2-4. However, the Lady Tigers weren’t going to let a small lead set them back and came within one point of the Lady Panthers, 5-6 with 3:52 on the clock. But the Lady Panthers managed another two points and ended the first quarter ahead, 5-8.
The second quarter was intense as the Lady Panthers put the first points on the board, 5-10. However, the Lady Tigers scored two points, trailing only by three at 6:22. The scores didn’t move again as the ball was handled by both teams and taken up and down the court. However, at 3:07, the Lady Tigers overtook the Lady Panthers, 11-10. It was tied up seconds later, 12-12 and then with less than 1:30 to play, the Lady Panthers stole the lead again. But a free throw put in the basket by Heather Pruitt, tied the game up, and both teams ended the second quarter with 13 points.
The third quarter would prove tough for the St. Regis Lady Tigers, who fell behind when Lyndi Ishler put two points on the board with free throws from the foul line. By the time the Lady Tigers managed a layup the Lady Panthers had already done so and got ahead by four points, 16-20 at 3:30. The final points for St. Regis would come in the form of two free throws made by Juliana Spencer at 2:42. From there, the Lady Panthers would take the ball and slide past the Lady Tigers defense, ending the third quarter ahead, 18-23.
The Lady Panthers came back in the fourth quarter with some catching up to do, but the girls were prepared. They overtook the Lady Panthers at 5:26 and would maintain the lead from there on out, but not without a fight. The held the Lady Panthers to 23 points up until Ishler stepped back onto the free throw line to manage two points, bringing her team within one point of the Lady Tigers, 26-25, with 3:25 on the clock. In the last three minutes, the ability to score free throws would prove valuable. The score didn’t change until Pruitt stepped onto the foul line scoring two free throws as well. Now 28-25, the Lady Panthers managed a layup, 28-27. The game changed at 58 seconds. With two players fouled out, the Lady Tigers found themselves playing five on four. And Chloe Lehl would tie the game up at 53 seconds by scoring a free throw.
But when the Alberton Lady Panthers fouled on Pruitt, the senior took full advantage of the free throw shots, scoring both, overtaking the Lady Panthers, 30-28. Another two free throws by Pruitt would put the Lady Tigers ahead by four. At 28 seconds, Danielle Henley put one last point on the board for the Lady Panthers with a free throw, but it wouldn’t be enough. Five seconds later, Brianna Managhan added another point to the Lady Tigers’ total. But the Lady Tigers weren’t done. The Alberton team fouled again and Pruitt managed two more free throws. The Lady Tigers won 35-29.
The Lady Panthers went on to lose against Drummond on Saturday, 74-32.
The Lady Tigers played Arlee on Friday and lost 21-35.
The Lady Panthers will play Philipsburg at home on Thursday and then travel to Victor on Friday. The Lady Tigers will play Hot Springs at home on Friday and then travel on Saturday to play Lincoln.