Panthers takedown Cougars post-holiday

The Saratoga Panthers came out of the holiday break without skipping a beat, it seemed, as they hosted the 2A Wind River Cougars on January 5.

Despite being a larger conference, the Cougars didn’t appear to stand a chance as they entered the Panther Den on Friday afternoon. They ultimately fell to Saratoga by more than 40 points.

“The Wind River game was a great way for us to come out of the holiday break,” said Jason Williams, head coach of the Saratoga Panthers. “It is sometimes challenging to get practices in over the break, so it was good to see where we stood.”

Where the team stood was mostly at the 3-point line, with a number of the Panthers sinking shots from the line with ease. According to Williams, this was the best shooting game Saratoga had this season, going 55% at the 3-point line as a team.

“Coach (Joe) Johnston and I were very happy with how the boys came out and played on Friday; we were able to come out and execute our game plan for the most part and the boys shared the ball well,” said Williams.

From the very start of the game, the Panthers established and maintained a commanding lead over Wind River. Despite moments where the Cougars tried to upset or disrupt Saratoga, the team quickly returned to controlling their home court. The Panthers did so with a little added flair, it seemed. Some of the passes were a little razzle-dazzle, a number of Saratoga’s boys successfully shot from the 3-point line and Finn Rolseth hit the rim for a total of 3 slam dunks during the Wind River game.

Rolseth led the team with a total of 27 points, 8 rebounds and 6 blocks. Fischer Williams followed with 24 points and 5 rebounds. Burris Berger scored 9 points and had 3 assists, Jace Westring scored 8 points and had 4 rebounds and Hazen Williams scored 6 points.

“The team also ended up with 15 assists, which shows that we were sharing the ball well, and it was a great warm up for conference play this week,” said Williams.

The final score was 88-47. Following the win against Wind River, the Panthers are now 5-0 for the season and 0-0 for conference play.

On Thursday, the Panthers will hit the road as they are hosted by the Kemmerer Rangers at 3 p.m. Then, on Saturday, Saratoga will host the Cokeville Panthers (6-3, 0-0) for their first conference game of the season.

Tuesday evening, the Panthers will travel into Tiger Nation as they will be hosted by their Valley and conference rivals, the Encampment Tigers (7-3, 0-0) at 4 p.m.