Lady Panthers end on high note

Over the weekend, the Saratoga Lady Panthers played in the State Tournament for the first time in 16 years. The last time the Lady Panthers had made it to Casper, they were still in the 2A Conference. While in Casper, Saratoga went 1-2 as they secured a win against the Lingle-Ft. Laramie Lady Doggers, but lost to the Upton Lady Bobcats and Little Snake River Valley (LSRV) Lady Rattlers.

“State was a good experience for my girls,” said Heather Bartlett, head coach of the Lady Panthers. “I am very proud of them and the way they played at state, especially considering that this was their first time experiencing state basketball. We were able to get a win and make it to Saturday’s game which I felt was very positive.”

Lady Panthers vs.

Lady Bobcats

The first game for Saratoga was against No. 2 East Upton. 

“Upton was a little tougher team than I had anticipated them to be, partially because they were bigger than I had realized,” Bartlett said. “We had scouted them well and prepared for them and when we actually got out on the court with them, they were some pretty big girls who had good skills for their size. I felt like we played a great 1st half with Upton and were neck-and-neck with them at half.”

The Lady Panthers did keep the scoring close in the 1st half of the game as they put up 10 points to Upton’s 11 points in the 1st quarter and 9 points to 12 points in the 2nd quarter.

“The 2nd half I feel like we let down mentally a little bit and didn’t finish the game out the way we wanted. Upton full-court pressed us the entire game, which we handled well the 1st half and didn’t handle well at all the 2nd half and that was really the difference for us in the 2nd half,” said Bartlett.

While Saratoga maintained a double-digit score in the 3rd quarter, with 10 points to the Lady Bobcat’s 15 points, they only managed to get 5 points on the board in the 4th quarter while Upton put up another 15 points.

“We just could not get the ball up the court and score the way we had done in the 1st half,” Bartlett said.

Savannah Wells led the Lady Panthers against Upton with 13 points and 5 rebounds. Following Wells was Whitney Bennett with 10 points, 7 rebounds, 5 steals and 4 assists. Senior Makiyah Johnson scored 7 points against the Lady Bobcats.

The final score was 34-53.

Lady Panthers vs.

Lady Doggers

Following their Thursday afternoon loss, Saratoga took on the Lady Doggers who had been sent to the consolation bracket by the eventual State Champions, the Cokeville Lady Panthers.

“We played Lingle at our pre-season tournament in Burns so we knew already who their good players were and how we matched up with them,” said Bartlett. “I am happy to say that the girls were able to put up an excellent game against Lingle and get the win. I felt like we were excellent on defense this game, we have been playing man-to-man defense for most of the year and working on improving it all year. I felt like it came together for the girls in this game and they had their best defensive of the year. I was really proud of them.”

Throughout the game, Saratoga either outscored or tied in scoring with the Lady Doggers. In the 1st quarter, the Lady Panthers put up 8 points while Lingle managed only 5. In the 2nd quarter, the Lady Doggers and Saratoga both put up 7 points and in the 3rd quarter the Lady Panthers put 9 points on the board to Lingle’s 6 points. It was in the 4th quarter where both teams scored the most as Saratoga put up 22 points to the Lady Doggers’ 18 points.

W. Bennett led Saratoga with 16 points, 20 rebounds and 5 assists. Taylor Bennett scored 12 points and 5 rebounds and was followed by Wells with 7 points and Johnson with 6 points and 5 rebounds.

The final score was 46-36.

Lady Panthers vs.

Lady Rattlers

With one loss and one win, Saratoga made their way into the Consolation Championship against the Lady Rattlers. During the regional tournament, LSRV had come out one spot ahead of the Lady Panthers.

“We did not come to this game ready to play at all and we were making silly mistakes like throwing the ball to people who weren’t looking and we were just not sharp,” Bartlett said. “However, they pulled things together in the 2nd half and finished the season out playing a lot harder, so I was proud of them for that.’

In the 1st quarter, LSRV kept the Lady Panthers scoreless while putting up 10 points of their own. In the 2nd quarter, Saratoga put up 7 points as did the Lady Rattlers. Following halftime, Saratoga put up 12 points to LSRV’s 17 points and in the 4th quarter the Lady Panthers put up 5 points to Baggs’ 7 points.

W. Bennett led Saratoga with 9 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals and 3 assists. Johnson followed with 8 points and 11 rebounds and was followed by T. Bennett with 3 points and Sam Fiedor with 3 points and 4 rebounds.

“Overall, we had a fantastic season and I am thrilled for the girls with the barriers that they broke down and the accomplishments that the team made this year,” said Bartlett.