Lady Panthers edge Lady Miners

The Saratoga Lady Panthers won a tight game against Hanna/Elk Mountain/Medicine Bow (HEM) Lady Miners Friday night 47-46 on the Panther's home court.

HEM took an immediate lead in the game with four points before Meredith Lincoln scored a 3-pointer. Justine Fourman tied the game at 5 points and then went on to score a 3-pointer to move the Panthers ahead 8-5. The first quarter ended in a 10-10 tie.

The Lady Panthers struggled as the Lady Miners scored 6 points in the first two minutes of the second quarter. The Panthers scored only two free throws. The game took a turn when Haley Soles had a fast break and passed to Katie Loose for a 3-pointer, tying the game at 19. The game seesawed as both teams made free throws for a 20-20 halftime score.

The Lady Panthers started the third quarter with a lead when Fourman scored a 3-pointer and followed up with fast break layup.

The Lady Panthers outscored the Lady Miners in the third quarter and were ahead 31-25 before getting into foul trouble. The Lady Miners scored 4 points at the free throw line followed by two quick buckets for 5 points and leading 31-34. After a time out, Soles scored a 2-pointer and the third quarter ended with the Lady Miners leading 33-34.

Mati Love suffered an injury in the third quarter and was out, for the rest of the game. She banged up her lip and nose, but was back to practice on Monday morning.

In the fourth quarter, Lincoln and Loose helped the Lady Panthers move into the lead by scoring 6 points collectively. With the score at 39-28, Soles fouled out of the game. With two starters out, the Lady Panthers kept the lead for the next three minutes. The Lady Panthers started to get into foul trouble again and the Lady Miners used free throws to tie the score at 44.

But, the Lady Panthers were not ready to give up the game. The game was tied at 46 with 28.7 seconds left when Loose intercepted and passed the ball to Lincoln, who was fouled when she went in for a layup. Lincoln scored the winning point at the line.

Bokelman said the girls did well and hung in there playing great defense. Bokelman was impressed with the fact that the girls were down by 9 points and went up by 5. "The biggest part was staying with it and not getting down on themselves," Bokelman said.

The girls will continue to work on all aspects of defense, Bokelman said. "Passing and basic skills and mixing up the passes," are just a few of areas Bokelman is concentrating on during the winter break. "The kids are going to get better and better."

Since they are not a tall team, Bokelman will continue to concentrate on their rebounding skills and boxing out the opponent.

The girls did a good job of stealing the ball in the back court, but then would lose it when they reached the front court. "They got in a hurry," Bokelman said. "As they play and get more experience and figure out how to the handle the ball, they will do better. That is why we practice. We pick out our weaknesses and improve on what we do well."

The girls started with a full court, man-to-man press. Bokelman said he asked his assistant coaches if they were gaining anything. When the coaches realized they were not, they dropped to man-to-man half court defense and played much better. "(The girls) made a pretty good defensive stand and kept (the Miners) from scoring for a couple of minutes. They gained a little confidence."

Bokelman said half of HEM's points came from free throws, so the Lady Panthers need to cut down on their fouls.

The Lady Panthers play the Wyoming Indian Reserve team Monday at the Fremont Tourney. "We are working on boxing out and rebounding and passing," Bokelman said. The team will on work on their positions against bigger players and getting pushed under the net. Bokelman says he tells the girls to stay inside and rebound when they can.

"If you don't get into position, you are in trouble."

Bokelman is pretty happy with the girls as they are working hard in practice and want to keep moving forward. "It will be tough over break, taking four days off from practice, but the kids need to be with their families, too," Bokelman said.

The girls will practice Saturday, then play Monday and Tuesday at the Fremont Tournament, the practice Jan. 2 and 3.

See the Lady Panthers' stats at http://www.saratogasun.com.