Panthers win three at Thermopolis Invite

The Saratoga Lady Panthers came home with three wins from the Thermopolis Invite this past weekend.

The Panthers’ only loss was to the 2A Southwest Conference Rocky Mountain Lady Grizzlies.

Friday the Panthers played a two-set match against 1A Northwest conference Burlington Lady Huskies and won 25-23, 27-25. The Huskies currently lead their conference 4-0, so this was a huge win for the Lady Panthers.

Addie Collins had 22 attempts at kills while Josie Little had 19 attempts. Cassidy Herring had 13 attempts and led the team in successful kills with five kills. Collins had four kills and had one ace.

The Panthers had success in their serves, which has been a goal for Coach Shayley Love. The team scored 29 points with their serves.

Later Friday, the Lady Panthers outscored the Meeteese Lady Longhorns, another team from the Northwest Conference. With scores 25-7 and 25-9 it proved an easy win for the Lady Panthers.

Josie Little led the team with eight kills, followed by Collins with six kills. Cassidy Herring had four kills. Maggie Elder helped with the win with three kills while Sophie Diaz had two kills.

The Panthers serving record scored 36 points with Koya Roberts leading at 8 points. Allie Condict earned 7 points for the Panthers and led with 15 assists.

Condict led with 15 assists.

Saturday morning, the Lady Panthers played the Rocky Mountain Lady Grizzlies. Even though it was a loss 11-25, 21-25, the Lady Panthers proved they could rebound after a loss and give the Grizzlies a fight. Little led in kills with 3 points, Addie Collins and Sophie Diaz each had two kills, while Elder and Herring had each kill each.

Libero Madi Johnson had 10 digs. Collins and Johnson had 3 and 2 aces, with Condict, Little and Gillian Creed having a 100 percent serving percentage.

The final match Saturday was against Wyoming Indian Lady Chiefs, a 2A team in the southeast conference, was another easy win for the Lady Panthers 25-10, 25-10.

Twenty-one kills helped the Lady Panthers keep the score high against the Lady Chiefs, backed up by the serves. Little led the team with six kills followed by Sophie Diaz with five kills. Cassidy Herring had four kills. Other kill points were scored by Creed - 1, Collins - 2, and Elder - 3.

Four Lady Panthers 100 percent statistics. Condict led with 13 points followed by Creed at 8 points. Little and Collins both had 100 percent in serves. Condict led the team with four aces.

“We are improving from week to week heading towards our goal of getting everything to work together on the court,” Love said.

The Panthers next five matches are out of town. Friday, the team travels to Fort Washakie for a game at 1 p.m., then to Farson-Eden for a 5 p.m. game. The Lady Panthers play at Cokeville at noon.

“We have to be able to perform anywhere we play. Just preparing mentally before we take the court and focusing on what we need to do to compete with each team will be important,” Love said.