Lady Panthers crumble against top conference opponent

The Lady Panthers went up against the No. 1 team in their conference and No. 2 in the state Friday night and lost 27-74. Burns (2-0, 11-0) played really well and the Panthers (0-2, 5-6) did not, head coach Scott Bokelman said.

He had told the girls to go in relaxed, but he could tell they were pretty intimidated. They had too many turnovers. "The just couldn't handle the press," Bokelman said.

"They are the team we want to be," Bokelman said of Burns.

With that in mind, Bokelman continues to work on basic skills to be able to handle that kind of pressure. "The better they played, the worse we played," Bokelman added.

Passing is still a weakness for the girls and Bokelman hopes to see improvement.

In the game against Pine Bluffs (1-0, 8-1), the girls played better, but still lost 43-61.

Even though they gave up too many points, Bokelman said, they played better defense.

The Lady Panthers till had a lot of turnovers, but not in the front like the Burns game.

"Had we drained shots in the second half, we would have had a better game," Bokelman said.

The team was down by six at the half.

In the Pine Bluffs game, Bokelman said he was impressed with Cruz Escoedo's performance. He wants to see his girls make more attempts at the bucket like Escobedo.

"If you're open, shoot the ball," Bokelman said. It is something the girls are not comfortable with yet.

Bokelman said the changes don't happen overnight and said the girls are working hard.

The stats showed an improvement in assists and that comes down to passing, Bokelman said.

With the losses last week, Bokelman encouraged the girls to keep the heads up.

This weekend, the Lady Panthers will face two non-conference opponents. Friday, the Panthers host Encampment at 4 p.m., then travel to Baggs for the Little Snake River Valley game at 4 p.m., on Saturday.