Lady Panthers take third at holiday tourney

Saratoga High School Girls’ Basketball coach Scott Bokelman is happy with the performance of his players over the holiday.

The Lady Panthers (4-4) took third place at the Fremont County Tournament held Dec. 29 and 30 in Riverton, Wyo.

“The kids responded well to (the win),” Bokelman said.

The girls are improving, Bokelman said. In the first game against the Wyoming Indian Lady Chiefs, the Lady Panthers lost 53-69. They shook off the loss to beat the Riverton Sophomores 47-29 and then played a nail biter against St. Stephens losing by one point 63-64.

The Saratoga girls were not happy with the loss, Bokelman said, as they saw they had a chance to win that game. The girls concentrated on the things they can do to keep improving and won against Wind River 63-39.

“The kids played well offensively,” Bokelman said. “They passed better, had better shots and are improving on their basic skills”

Bokelman said the girls are also having fun with the game while working hard at the same time.

As the girls are improving, the bench is developing some depth and Bokelman has eight or nine girls who can play each game.

“The bench is playing really well,” Bokelman said. “The seniors are doing a fantastic job and have positive attitudes in helping our team, which is a big deal to us.”

Meredith Lincoln and Justine Fourman were the top scorers in the all of the games. Lincoln scored a total of 69 points during the tournament with Fourman scoring 61.

“Justine is pretty unselfish on the court,” Bokelman said, which gave some of the other girls a chance to put some points on the board during the Riverton game. While Fourman scored only 5 points, below her normal double-digit scores, Cruz Escobedo, Kelsie Samson and Katie Loose made some buckets. Escobedo added 20 points to the tournament with 8 points contributed in the Riverton game.

Fourman also led in offensive and defensive rebounds during the games.

Haley Soles shined during the St. Stephens game as she scored 8 points, had five offensive rebounds, four defensive rebounds and two steals.

The Lady Panthers still need to work on their passing, boxing out and rebounding on the defensive end, Bokelman said. Skills they will need against Little Snake River Valley (LSRV) who has tough players on the inside.

The Lady Panthers host LSRV Friday at the Saratoga Middle High School Gym. Game time for the junior varsity team begins at 3:30 p.m.

 

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