Lady Panthers feel the snake bite of Little Snake River

Things did not go right for the Saratoga Lady Panthers as they fell to the Little Snake River Valley (LSRV) Lady Rattlers, 44-23, giving them their second straight league loss.

The visiting Lady Rattlers came into Friday night’s contest confident and determined as they dominated Saratoga. The LSRV defense kept the Lady Panthers in check for three of the four quarters, although the Lady Rattlers had a slow start in the 1st quarter and their free throws could have been better.

The Lady Rattlers were led by sophomore Kenzie Evans who made two key defensive plays with a couple of baskets and rebounds which helped the LSRV keep the game out of reach from the Lady Panthers.

“I feel my team helps me decide where it’s going,” Evans said. “My teammate Kinlie Montogmery would be in the back to tell me which way to go. As for our free throwing, we just need to focus more.”

In the 1st quarter, the Lady Panthers and the Lady Rattlers both had a slow start. Neither team did much for the first two minutes and had back-to-back turnovers. With under six minutes left, both teams finally scored and, at the end of the 1st period, it was 7-6 in favor of the Lady Panthers.

In the 2nd quarter, the Lady Rattlers went to the free-throw line with 7:45 on the clock. Little Snake River only made one of two shots and the score was tied at 7-7. With 6:35 on the clock, the Lady Rattlers took a 9-7 lead. Two minutes later the Lady Rattlers scored again to increase the lead to 12-7.

With 5:45 on the clock, the Lady Panthers were fouled and went to the free-throw line but missed both. Saratoga went back to the free-throw line with 4:03 on the clock and made two baskets. The score was now 12-9 in favor of the Lady Rattlers.

The Lady Rattlers would score with two more baskets to turn the lead to 16-9in their favor. Saratoga would call a time-out with 3:46 on the clock. With 3:20 on the clock, the Lady Panthers went to the free-throw line but only made one basket and the score was 16-10 in favor of the Lady Rattlers. Snake River would get back to the free-throw line less than a minute later but only made one shot. The score was now 17-11 in favor of the Lady Rattlers.

With 1:35 left in the first half, the Lady Panthers returned to the free-throw line and made both shots. The score is now 16-11 in favor of the Lady Rattlers. With less than 20 seconds left, the Lady Rattlers went to the free-throw line and made both shots. At that point, the Lady Rattlers were up 19-11 With 15 seconds on the clock, the Lady Panthers made one shot from the free-throw line. The score was then 19-12 in favor of the Lady Rattlers. The Lady Panthers got the ball back on a rebound but failed to beat the buzzer. The score remained 19-12 at halftime.

Going into the 3rd quarter with 7:28 on the clock the Lady Rattlers get a quick two points and a foul. LSRV only made one shot at the free throw line and the score was now 22-12 in favor of the Lady Rattlers.

With 6:31 on the clock, the Lady Panthers were fouled and went to the free-throw line. Saratoga only made one shot and the score was 22-13. Then with 5:50 on the clock, the Lady Rattlers scored 2 points to turn the lead into 24-13 in favor of LSRV. Both teams made some quick baskets and with 3:35 on the clock the score was now 29-15 in favor of the Lady Rattlers both teams called a timeout.

With under three minutes on the clock, the Lady Panthers made turnover after turnover and the Lady Rattlers extended their lead to 31-15.

At 1:47 on the clock, the Lady Rattlers returned to the free-throw line but missed both shots. With 1:15 on the clock, the Lady Panthers called a timeout to regroup. With 49 seconds on the clock, the Lady Panthers went to the free-throw line and made one of two shots but got the ball back with 4 seconds on the clock, Saratoga returned to the free-throw line and only made one of two shots.

At that point, the score was 31-17. The Lady Rattlers went to the free-throw line with 0.19 seconds on the clock and Little Snake River did not capitalize to extend the lead. The score remained 31-17 at the end of the 3rd quarter.

Going into the 4th quarter the Lady Panthers quickly scored 2 points and the score was 31-19 Lady Rattlers. With under eight minutes left the Lady Rattlers scored a 3-point shot and a time-out was called at 6:14 on the clock. From this point on the Lady Rattlers took control of the entire game. Saratoga was able to score four more points with under five minutes on the clock.

The Lady Rattlers were able to capitalize on two steals and were able to score another 13 points both with shots and free throws with less than four minutes on the clock. The LSRV came out on top with a 44-23. Despite the Lady Rattler’s slow start in the first half, they went full speed in the last two quarters.

“We started off the game kind of slow with offense and our shooting percentage was not the best but it was our defense that kept us in the game,” said Clay Evans, head coach of the LSRV Lady Rattlers. “Our defense is what brings our offense and as long as they are in there hustling they will win games”.

Heather Barlett, head coach of the Saratoga Lady Panthers said despite the tough loss she was proud of her girls. She believed they made an honest effort, especially going up against a tough team like Little Snake River Valley.

“Snake River is a very good team. We were pretty down that game because we had three girls out due to sickness and one for injury,” Barlett said. “I was missing two of my normal starters. Overall I was pleased with the girls’ effort, they played hard. It is difficult to play an excellent team when you are missing some of your main players. However, overall we have been struggling with our offense, we seem to be in a bit of a slump. Offense and reducing our turnovers will be a major focus for our team in the next couple of weeks”.

The Saratoga Lady Panthers will be on the road January 26 to face the Cokeville Lady Panthers at 4:00 p.m. and the Farson-Eden Lady Pronghorns on January 27 at noon.