Lady Tigers' troubles continue

The Lady Tigers’ troubles continued to a four-game losing streak. The Encampment girls have not won a game since beating valley rival the Saratoga Lady Panthers on February 2.

Since then they lost to the Upton Lady Bobcats and the Little Snake River Valley (LSRV) Lady Rattlers, who hold the 2nd top seed in their conference Then they had losses to conference rivals Farson-Eden Lady Pronghorns and the Cokeville Lady Panthers who hold the top seed in the conference.

Lady Tigers vs. Lady Pronghorns

Encampment had a heartbreaking 35-34 loss to the Lady Pronghorns. Head Coach Kevin Pantle said his girls had a great start but then things started to turn for the worst.

“We got up by 12 points in the second half and got into foul trouble,” Pantle said. “Then we were having a rough night shooting free throws. We went 20 out of 51 from the line. I had three starters (who) fouled out. We had many opportunities down the stretch to finish the game but the ball just would not go in.”

The Lady Tigers had a chance to win.. Being short-handed on three players, however, cost them the game. The Lady Pronghorns took advantage of Encampment’s foul outs and their defense put pressure on the Lady Tigers in the final minutes in the 4th quarter.

Lady Tigers vs. Lady Panthers

It was no sin for the Lady Tigers to lose to top top-seed Cokeville Lady Panthers. The Lady Panthers of Cokeville have shown why they are ranked high both in their conference and in their state.

Pantle said he is well aware that his girls would be going up against a tough competitor that has not given any mercy to their recent opponents. Despite a poor start in the first half, He said his girls kept fighting hard.

“Our girls started flat against Cokeville in the first quarter,” Pantle said. “The second quarter was a little better. After halftime, we made some good adjustments and outscored Cokeville 16 to 8.”

Pantle also said his girls made a better effort in the second half. Although the scoreboard says otherwise, their determination speaks louder than what the final score was, especially going up against a high-caliber team like Cokeville.

“I am very proud of the effort that my girls demonstrated in the second half of the game,” Pantle said. “The Cokeville girls’ basketball team is very athletic and quick with excellent fundamentals. I hope that my girls learned that they can play with anyone if they take care of the ball and hustle”.

Pantle and his Lady Tigers’ next goal for this Friday is to finish the season with an upset against the 2nd top seed in their conference, the LSRV Lady Rattlers. He said it wouldn’t be easy but his girls will be ready to fight and play hard.

“I feel if we can handle the pressure that LSRV applies all game, we have a chance to upset the Lady Rattlers,” Pantle said. “LSRV has the deepest bench in our conference, and they use every person on it. They are very athletic and quick as well. We need to play very good defense and get some help from our bench to be competitive in our conference. I believe we have the most competitive conference in the state in 1A.”