Lady Panthers bite into Lady Rattlers

The Saratoga Lady Panthers, much like the Panthers themselves, appear to be setting out that they have something to prove this season. Following their sole game this weekend against a conference rival, the Lady Panthers do not appear to be in any danger of having to play a pig-tail play-in like they did last season to make it to the regional tournament.

On Friday, the Lady Panthers braved the winter roads to be hosted by the Little Snake River Valley (LSRV) Lady Rattlers. While there, they would snatch a victory away from Baggs on their home court.

“Our Snake River game was an amazing game,” said Heather Bartlett, head coach of the Lady Panthers. “Our girls played so well. I feel like Snake River is one of the hardest places to play and the girls stepped up and played great there.”

Bartlett went on to add that the game was fast-paced and saw a number of lead changes between Saratoga and the Lady Rattlers.

“We were actually down by 8 (points) with only two minutes left, but the girls never quit playing hard and were able to hit some really clutch shots at the end of the game to win,” Bartlett said. “Whitney Bennett had a lay-up and a pull-up three in the last 1:30 of the game and Taylor Bennett had a steal and a layup out of our press to put us up by 2 with about 15 seconds left.”

In the final seconds of the game, LSRV would go to the free-throw line, but only make one basket and secure Saratoga’s win.

“Taylor Bennett and Savannah Wells both stepped up and shot great this game with a total of six 3-pointers between them,” said Bartlett. “Savannah also was driving well. They both ended up with season-high 18 point games. We have known that they are both capable of scoring that way all year and they both have had good games in the past, but this one has been their best.”

Along with scoring 18 points, T. Bennett also had 4 rebounds and 2 steals. Wells, in addition to her 18 points, had 3 rebounds and 4 steals.

“Whitney Bennett also had a great game with 16 points and a real competitive spirit at the end of the game,” Bartlett said. “This was a great conference win for us.”

W. Bennett, along with her 16 points, also had 6 rebounds and 3 steals. Sam Fiedor scored 5 points against LSRV and had 7 rebounds and 2 steals and Tasia Daley scored 3 points and had 8 rebounds and 3 steals.

The final score against the Lady Rattlers was 62-61.

The Lady Panthers were also scheduled to be hosted by the 3A Mountain View Lady Buffaloes. The winter weather, however, led that game to be cancelled.

With this conference win under their belts, the Saratoga Lady Panthers are 7-7 for the season and 3-1 in conference play. This weekend, Saratoga will be hosted by their Valley rivals, the Encampment Lady Tigers (3-10, 0-5).

The face-off between the Lady Panthers and Encampment will begin at noon on February 8 in Encampment.