Busy week for Saratoga

The Saratoga Panthers and Lady Panthers ended their regular season with a busy week filled with games, two at home and one on the road. On Tuesday, Feb. 13 they hosted the North Park, Colo. Wildcats. On Friday they traveled to Kaycee to face-off against the Buckaroos and Lady Bucs and returned to Saratoga to host the Hanna, Elk Mountain, and Medicine Bow (HEM) Miners and Lady Miners on Saturday.

Lady Panthers vs.

Lady Wildcats

The young Lady Panthers hosted the Lady Wildcats at 4:30 p.m. on Feb. 13 in the Panther Den. When North Park hosted Saratoga in January, the Lady Panthers returned to Saratoga with a loss of 29 points. This time, while the Lady Wildcats had another win against Saratoga, the still maturing team trailed by only 15 points.

"We played Walden much closer at home than we did in Walden and I was pleased with the girls' effort," said Heather Bartlett, head coach of the Saratoga Lady Panthers.

Makiya Johnson led the team against North Park with 14 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists followed by Mychaela Jackman with 10 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 steals.

The final score was 43-58.

Lady Panthers

vs. Lady Bucs

Only a week after hosting Kaycee for their make-up game, the Lady Panthers hit the road to take on the Lady Bucs on their home court. When Kaycee left Saratoga, it was with a 6-point lead over the Lady Panthers. This time, Saratoga left Kaycee with an 8-point lead, giving the Lady Panthers their fourth win of the season.

"I felt when we played Kaycee on Friday that was our best game of the year," said Bartlett, "The girls really came together and all of them played well individually and as a team."

Leading the Lady Panthers against the Lady Bucs, Jackman had 10 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals followed by Johnson with 10 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal.

"We are focusing on our Walden game and our strong showing in our Kaycee game to springboard off of and carry us into next season," said Bartlett.

The final score was 48-40.

Lady Panthers vs.

Lady Miners

Returning to Saratoga, the Lady Panthers hosted HEM on Saturday. Saratoga girls would only score two points, both from free throws, in the first half as the Lady Miners went on a 19-point run in the first half. After the half, however, Saratoga would score three of the first four shots in the second half.

"We had our worst first half of the entire season," said Bartlett, "we came back and had a better second half but it was too little too late."

Saratoga worked to close the lead in the second half, scoring 18 more points against the Lady Miners. HEM, aided by a strong defense and outside shooting, kept their lead by scoring another 22 points.

Johnson again lead the Lady Panthers with 8 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists and 1 steal followed by Shiann Baker with 7 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal.

The final score was 20-43.

The Lady Panthers, being 0-8 for conference, will not be going to regionals and end their season 4-17.

Panthers vs. Wildcats

The last time Saratoga took on the Wildcats, they left North Park with a 13-point lead. After hosting North Park on Feb. 13, the Panthers nearly doubled that as the Wildcats left the Panther Den trailing 25 points to Saratoga.

The final score was 61-36.

Panthers vs. Buckaroos

The Panthers traveled to Kaycee to play the Buckaroos, who are ranked No. 1 for 1A Northeast conference, just a week after the make-up game in which Saratoga lost by 1 point during overtime. The Saratoga boys would return home after a devastating 41-point loss to Kaycee on Friday.

The final score was 87-46.

Panthers vs. Miners

Saratoga returned home to face the Miners in the Panther Den on Saturday. While HEM would briefly enjoy a 6-point lead, the Panthers would end up leading 38-23 by halftime and 58-36 by the end of the third quarter.

The final score was 70-49.

Having already secured their No. 2 seed in the 1A West Regional Boys Tournament after their win over Little Snake River Valley, the Panthers are 5-3 for conference and 14-7 for the season.

The Saratoga Panthers will face the No. 3 Northwest ranked Meeteetse Longhorns for their first game of the Regional tournament at 2 p.m. on Feb. 22 in Lander.