The #8 ranked Whitharral Lady Panthers faced off against the Texline Lady Tornadoes in the Regional Semifinals Round of the 1A Division 2 girls basketball playoffs this past Monday at Tascosa High School, resulting in the Lady Panthers losing 66-38 and being eliminated from the playoffs.
The Lady Panthers struggled on both sides of the ball in the loss, falling well short of their normal averages of holding opponents to 35 points per game and scoring 55 points per game. “It was a tough night for us,” Lady Panthers Head Coach Madison Ortega said. “We couldn’t hit shots and overall did not show up to play a very tough Texline team. It was definitely a night of learning hard lessons, and we know we will be better for it next year.”
Scorers for the Lady Panthers in the loss included Paige Smith with 22 points behind 8/11 free throws made, Sheridan Neal and Aerieana Rodriguez both with five points, and Kalyn Bates, Aaliyah Sanchez and Valeria Frias all with two points.
The loss finalizes the Lady Panthers’ record at 27-8 overall, and following the conclusion of their season, Coach Ortega reflected on it as a whole.
“We battled a lot of hard things this year which was fitting because our motto was ‘handle hard better.’ I felt like we did handle everything thrown our way the best we could. This is a close group of girls who have worked very hard to get the culture where it is,” Coach Ortega said. “Last night (Monday) was not a reflection of what we have accomplished and done this season. I am very proud of every single girl. The Lord has blessed me immensely with this group, and I couldn’t be more thankful. I am also very grateful for my assistants and everything they contributed to our season as well. The support we receive from our community is second to none, and we know we wouldn’t be who we are without them. It was a great year that ended prematurely, but that is part of life. We learn from it, grow from it and move on with our heads held high.”
With three Gold Balls added to the collection, this season will serve as a great program builder heading into the next, where they’ll face tougher district competition due to realignment.