Saratoga girls go 1-1 to end their season

It has been a rollercoaster ride for the Saratoga Lady Panthers to say the least. As tough as the season has been for the Lady Panthers, they are working hard to make a great seasoning ending.

So far, Saratoga is doing just that.

Saratoga vs. Farson-Eden

The Lady Panthers got their second conference win against the always-tough Farson-Eden Lady Pronghorns in an impressive 54-41 win. The Lady Panthers had a dominant 1st quarter but, in the 2nd quarter, the Lady Pronghorns were able to stay at pace with Saratoga. In the second half, the Lady Panthers took control of the last two quarters.

Heather Bartlett, head coach of the Saratoga Lady Panthers, said she is impressed with how her girls outplayed Farson-Eden in the second half.

“We are so glad to get this win,” Bartlett said. “Farson-Eden is a really good team and this is a huge win for us. I am so proud of the girls. They came out ready to play the whole game. I feel that not one girl has given me their 100% for four quarters and that is the kind of effort we need. Even the girls on the bench gave me their 100% by cheering and giving their support.”

The Lady Panthers were led by Rhiwan Williams who had a double-double with 13 points, 12 rebounds, 8 assists, and 4 steals. Anna Peterson has 14 points 6 rebounds and 6 steals.

Sophie Diaz had 8 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists, and Allie Condict with 3 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals.

Williams said it was a great team effort and she could not have had a great performance without her teammates by her side. She said things did not always go the way she wanted this season, but was still proud of her team for not giving up.

“I think continuing to work hard sometimes works out for you and sometimes it does not,” Williams said. “I am pleased that this game has given me more confidence and to play more aggressively. So yes this game is a confidence builder for myself and the team and it taught me to trust my team and not give up.”

Anna Peterson said she was excited about the way her team played, especially getting back-to-back wins. She said that she could not be any happier.

“It feels pretty good to get this win but I have to say it is all thanks to my team for playing as a team and they played great and awesome,” Peterson said. “Farson-Eden is a great team and they also played well.”

In the 1st quarter, both teams started at an even pace. With 6:41 on the clock, the Lady Pronghorns scored first at the free-throw line. Shortly thereafter, with 5:38 on the clock, the Lady Panthers tied up the game at 2-2 at the free throw line.

Then at 5:13 on the clock, the Lady Panthers would strike again scoring 2 points at the free throw line and Saratoga would have a 4-2 lead. At that point, Saratoga was taking control of the game, and with 4:04 on the clock the Lady Panthers scored another 2 points and the score was 6-2 Saratoga in the lead.

The Lady Pronghorns would soon answer back with 3:35 on the clock Farson-Eden would score 2 points and the lead was cut down to 6-4. Both teams battled it out in under two minutes The Lady Panthers were able to add 4 more points to their lead. The Lady Pronghorns added 2 more points and the score was 10-6, Saratoga, at the end of the 1st quarter.

Going into the 2nd period with 7:34 on the clock the Lady Panthers scored 2 points but missed two shots at the free throw line. The score was now 12-6, Saratoga. At 5:12 on the clock, the Lady Pronghorns scored 2 points and the score was 12-8 in favor of Saratoga.

Then with 4:36 on the clock, the Lady Panthers scored 2 points to increase their lead 14-8.

With under four minutes on the clock, both teams made baskets back and forth. In the last two minutes of the quarter, it turned into a defensive battle. In the final minutes, the Lady Pronghorns scored an additional 8 points and the Lady Panthers added 3 points to their lead.

The score was 17-16 in Favor of Saratoga at the half.

Moving into the 3rd quarter the game was tied 21-21 with 6:10 on the clock. Then, the Lady Panthers scored another 2 points, and Saratoga was back in the lead, 23-21.

With 5:10 on the clock the Lady Panthers went back to the free throw line and made 2 points and the score was now 25-21.

The Lady Pronghorns got a lucky break with 4:26 left on the clock when Farson-Eden tied the game at 25-25 and got the foul. The Lady Pronghorns were able to score 1 point on the free throw line to give Farson-Eden back the lead with the score 26-25

With 3:46 on the clock, Lady Panther Diaz made 2 points at the free throw line and Saratoga regained the lead at 27-25. At 3:07 on the clock, Lady Panther Willams went to the free throw line and made only 1 point and the score was now 28-26 in favor of Saratoga. Lady Pronghorns quickly tied the game at 27-27

The Lady Panthers scored a 3-point shot with 2:35 on the clock and the score is now 30-27 in favor of Saratoga. Then Lady Panther Peterson would hit a 2-point shot and turn the lead to 32-27. Both teams would battle hard with under one minute on the clock. Saratoga got 3 points in the final seconds and Farson-Eden would get 4 points. The score is now 35-31 in favor of the Lady Panthers at the end of the 3rd quarter.

Going into the 4th quarter, both Saratoga and Farson-Eden turned it into a battle.

With 7:29 on the clock, the Lady Pronghorns scored 2 points to reduce the deficit to 35-33 in favor of Saratoga. Then with less than seven minutes remaining, Lady Panther’s Peterson went to the free throw line making 1 point and the score was 36-33.

Saratoga scored another 6 points and Farson-Eden scored 4 points with under six minutes on the clock. With 5:05 on the clock, the score was 42-37 in favor of the Lady Panthers. Saratoga struck again 55 seconds later and the Lady Panthers turned it into a 44-37 lead.

With 3:03 on the clock, Lady Panther Williams went to the free throw line and only made 1 point but Saratoga scored quickly on a rebound and the score was now 47-37 in Favor of the Lady Panthers.

Then with 1:51 on the clock, the Lady Panthers had the taste of victory in their mouth as they scored a 3-point shot to turn the lead into 50-37. At that point the Lady Panthers got the game locked in. Farson-Eden was able to score 4 points in under one minute and Saratoga hit 4 points in the final seconds. The Lady Panthers walk off with a 54-41 win.

Saratoga vs. Cokeville

It has been said that every team in the 1A Southwest Conference is good no matter who you face. However, the Lady Panthers found out on Friday that only one team is just that better than the rest and that is the Cokeville Lady Panthers.

From start to finish the visiting Lady Panthers were too dominant for the Saratoga Lady Panthers in a 58-16 blowout. It is nothing that the Lady Panthers did wrong, they just simply played against one of the top powerhouses in the state. The Cokeville Lady Panthers have a record of 15-2 with a conference record of 6-0 and are ranked 7th overall in the state.

In the 1st quarter with under seven minutes on the clock, both teams were at an even pace but the Cokvville girls made two quick baskets then the Saratoga Girls quickly scored 2 points and the score was 4-2 in favor of Cokeville.

The visiting Lady Panthers went to the free throw line with 6:01 on the clock. Cokeville’s TyLeigh Dayton made both shots at the line and the score is now 6-2 in favor of the Lady Orange Panthers.

Cokeville did not stop there. With 4:38 seconds on the clock, the Lady Orange Panthers jump into an 8-4 lead. With 4:08 on the clock, The Lady Orange Panthers went to the free-throw line again. Cokeville’s Bryil Groll made 1 point and the score is 9-4 in favor of the Lady Orange Panthers.

Cokeville continued to score at a fast pace and at that point, the Saratoga Lady Panthers had no answers to slow down Cokeville. In the last two minutes of play, Cokevile was able to score 12 points and Saratoga was scoreless. The score was 21-4 in favor of the Lady Panthers at the end of the 1st quarter.

In the 2nd quarter, at 5:31 on the clock, Cokeville had a 23-4 lead. Saratoga had a difficult time scoring as Cokeville’s defense was blocking shots and taking advantage of turnovers.

With 5:06 on the clock, Cokeville’a Baily Bird went to the free throw line but only made 1 point. The score is now 24-4 in favor of the visiting Lady Panthers. Finally, the Saratoga Lady Panthers were able to score again. With 4:04 on the clock, Saratoga’s Aspen Sewell made 1 point at the free throw line and the score was now 24-5 in favor of Cokeville.

The visiting Lady Panthers struck again on a 2-point basket with 2:27 on the clock. Cokeville’s lead was now 26-5. Cokeville scored again with 1:50 on the clock, turning their lead to 28-5.

In less than a minute the visiting Lady Panthers scored 2 points and with 20 seconds on the clock, the Saratoga Lady Panthers also scored 2 points. The Lady Orange Panthers would make three 3-point baskets just a fraction of a second before the buzzard hit and Cokeville took a 33-7 halftime lead.

Early in the 3rd quarter, the Lady Panthers made another 3 points and their lead was now 36-7. The Saratoga Lady Panthers scored again when Saratoga’s Sewell made a 2-point shot with 5:05 on the clock. The score was now 36-9 in favor of Cokeville.

With only 4:57 on the clock, the Lady Orange Panthers would score and go to the free-throw line. Cokeville’s lead is now 40-9. As the clock moved with 4:13 on the clock the Lady Orange Panthers went to the free throw line and made 2 points then within 3 seconds at 4:10 on the clock Cokeveville got the rebound and added another 2 points and the score is now 44-9 in favor of the Lady Orange Panthers.

With 3:05 on the clock, Cokeville scored again increasing the lead to 46-9 The Saratoga Lady Panthers would add 4 points and the Lady Orange Panthers would score 2 points and the score was now 52-13 at the end of the 3rd quarter.

In the 4th quarter, it was all Cokeville and there was not much Saratoga could do. Cokeville scored 6 points and Saratoga scored only 3 points. The Cokeville Lady Panthers walked off with a 58-16 win.

Ben Barnes, head coach for the Cokeville Lady Panthers, said he was proud of the girls. He said that his girls will be faced with challenges, especially going to the regionals.

“Saratoga is always good at home and they challenged our girls to play well and hustle,” Barnes said. “They did a good job in keeping up with the plays and fixing the little fundamental things”.

Barnes said he reminded his team that no matter how good they have done this season he told them to never underestimate any of their opponents.

“Every day you have to come and play and every practice you have to be ready with intensity,” Barnes said. “We take it one practice at a time, one game at a time, and we differently don’t underestimate our opponents because anyone can have a good night and anyone can have an off night,”

Heather Bartlett said it was a tough ending for the final home game of the season. She said she is proud of her girls and they have nothing to be ashamed of, especially going up against powerhouse Cokeville.

“Cokeville is the top team in the state,” Bartlett said. “They are an extremely good team and they are good at shooting and passing and there is nothing that they are bad at.”