Lady Panthers continue to show improvement
ALBERTON – The Alberton Lady Panthers faced defeat in last week’s games against the Phillipsburg Lady Prospectors and their county rivals from Superior.
In the game on Thursday, January 23, the Lady Panthers faced off for county pride against the Superior Lady Bobcats. After a fierce battle, the girls walked away with a final score of 38 to 55. The game was close and Alberton kept the Lady Bobcats on their toes but a strong third quarter led the Superior girls to victory.
According to Head Coach Hannah Anderson, the girls were on fire. They were only eight points down at the half. She felt the team have shown big improvements throughout their games this season.
“The team has improved immensely and I’m very excited to watch them continue to do so,” said Anderson.
Both teams played a strong game. For Alberton, senior Ryan Vicek brought in 12 points as the team’s lead scorer. Junior Taylor Erdman and sophomore Deveyn Dutt both followed close behind with nine points each.
When the Lady Panthers went to Phillipsburg they saw a second defeat with a much closer score. Spurred on by their defeat against Superior, the girls came out much stronger and had a close game. The match ended with a final score of 32 to 40.
The first half of the game saw Alberton struggle to keep up with their opposition. Phillipsburg’s strong defense was powerful enough to keep the team behind. Despite their efforts the girls were unable to pull themselves back up. The first half ended with the Lady Panthers with only eight points.
This caused the girls to come back with a new ferocity and push through Granite’s lines. The girl’s offense took off as the team broke out of the fog from the first half.
The second half opened as Alberton brought a stronger game where they were able to pull back considerably. Anderson said the girls came out fired up and rallied to bring in 20 points in the third quarter.
The last quarter saw Alberton nearly catch the Lady Prospectors as they pressed their attack. At one point, the girls were able to pull to within four points.
“The girls played very hard,” said Anderson.
Vicek continued to lead the team by a large margin as she brought in 17 points. Erdman came in second among the rest of the team with five points. The remainder of the points were divided fairly evenly among Dutt, senior Haley Marvin and sophomore Mia Tocci.
Anderson commended the girls on their teamwork and felt they had a great game. Coming out strong as a team brought the team within striking distance of victory.
“The girls played very hard and played well together,” said Anderson.
In their practices this week, the girls will work to improve their rebound skills. The girls will play two games this week against Dummond and Lincoln.
The Lady Panthers will play against the Lady Trojans on Thursday, January 30. This will be their first game against the team and Anderson looked forward to the match. She said it would be a great game.
The girls will also play an away game against the Lady Lynx on Saturday, February 1.