It took a couple of games at the Fremont Tournament last week for the Saratoga Panthers (2-5) to shake the holiday break, losing two games in a row. By the last game of the tournament, the team was playing the way they wanted to and had a solid win against Fort Washaskie 55-13.
“The [winter] break hurt us,” Panther head coach Joe Johnston said. The team had 32 turnovers against the Wyoming Indian Chiefs (8-3). “You can’t have a turnover when playing against the Wyoming Indians,” Johnston said.
The team only had a chance to shoot 24 from the floor, but made 50 percent of those count.
“They didn’t take care of the ball at all,” Johnston said.
The Wyoming Indians are ranked second in the 2A southwest conference and going into winter break had a No. 1 ranking in the state from WyoPreps.
The Panthers traveled to Riverton to play in the tournament. Following the 35-83 loss against the Wyoming Indians, the Panthers lost to the Riverton Sophomores 56-90.
The Panthers took better care of the ball in the second game of the day, Johnston said. The team reduced their turnovers by more than half, only having 14 in the game against the 4A Riverton team.
“From the Wyoming Indian game it was a night and day difference,” Johnston said. “They weren’t as timid. They didn’t shoot quite as well, but shot a lot more.”
The Riverton Sophomores were very good Johnston said and the Wolverines beat Wyoming Indian Chiefs later in the day.
Johnston said the team was out of shape because of the holiday break, but this week he plans to get them back in shape for the game against Little Snake River Valley (LSRV). They will focus on help side and help defense. “We will keep working on fundamentals and zone defense. We need to focus everybody on boxing out,” Johnston said.
Some of the players are a little timid on the floor and they need to be more confident and shoot the ball, Johnston added.
Johnston has seen a lot of improvement since the beginning of the season which has added depth to the bench. The teams they played at the tournament were very competitive for 2A teams and some of the Riverton Sophomores play varsity, Johnston said.
LSRV is a strong team and plays really good help defense and cut to the opening, Johnston said. The Rattlers have been 1A state champions for the last three years in a row. They are fundamentally sound, and have a new coach this year, Johnston said.
The Panthers host the Rattlers at 3:30 p.m. Friday beginning with the junior varsity game. Varsity boys game time is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
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