The Whitharral Lady Panthers hosted the Anton Lady Dawgs for a district basketball battle this past Thursday night, and the Lady Panthers came out on top, 50-43.
The Lady Panthers led nearly the entirety of the game, but the Lady Dawgs kept finding ways to stay in it, to no avail.
The difference in the game was the Lady Panthers suffocating defense, as they would never allow the Lady Dawgs half-court offense to fully get into rhythm, constantly pestering them with pressures, traps, deflections, steals and blocks.
“We’ve got specific district goals, and one of them is limiting paint touches,” Lady Panthers Head Basketball Coach Madison Ortega said. “That’s the big thing we’ve been trying to work on, getting deflections and not letting people touch the paint, so that’s been in the back of their mind. I think when they have that on their mind, they get after it. These girls love to play defense, and they take pride in it.”
Coach Ortega would also go on to give respect to the Anton Lady Dawgs program and Lady Dawgs Head Coach Tami Wilson on their growth over the past few seasons. She gave recognition to the hard work they’ve put in to improve as a program and noted they’re always going to be a tough opponent now.
Scorers for the Lady Panthers in the win included Paige Smith with 24 points, Aerieana Rodriguez with 10 points, Valeria Frias with eight points, Kalyn Bate with four points and Sheridan Neal with four points.
Smith ended up being the leading scorer easily, but Whitharral showed a very selfless and well-rounded offense in the win.
And after the win, Paige Smith was honored for recently surpassing the 2,000-career points milestone with a banner, which Coach Ortega reflected on.
“She’s a blessing to coach. Her love for the game is unmatched. A lot of people don’t see that until you see her on the court,” Coach Ortega said. “She scores a lot of points, but when you see her play, she plays defense, instructs the girls and helps me sometimes. She’s a great kid, and an even better basketball player.”
Congratulations to Paige Smith on the achievement. Smith is only a junior so 3,000 career points is certainly on the table.
Following the win, the Lady Panthers are 20-7 overall, ranked #8 and 5-0 in district play, which puts them first in the 1A District 5 standings.
Meanwhile, the loss drops the Lady Dawgs to 14-7 overall and 4-1 in district play, which puts them second in the 1A District 5 standings.
The Lady Dawgs did a lot of great things in the loss, with their transition offense at the top of that list. They excelled in transition on the night, scoring numerous points and staying in the game because of their effectiveness in transition.
The Lady Dawgs held the speed advantage against Whitharral, but the Lady Panthers’ defensive pressure in the half court is what hampered their overall success.
Scorers for the Lady Dawgs included Miliana Castillo with 14 points, Naliyah Cooper with 12 points, Alyssa Mancias with 10 points, Ally Ramirez with four points and Alisiah Alafa with three points.
They put together many noteworthy individual efforts in a hard-fought team performance, falling just short, but Coach Wilson doesn’t plan on letting that happen again.
“I promise you, our next episode with them, we’re going to give them an even better match. My goal is to work on beating Whitharral, every game we play,” Coach Wilson said. “I’m not taking anybody for granted, but the things we need to do against Whitharral, if we do that against others, we’re going to be in the game anyways. My focus is what we need to do to beat Whitharral and have a chance to share the district title.”
The two teams meet again in Anton on Feb. 10, but until then there’s lots of district basketball still to be played.
Early in the week, the Lady Panthers are back against Cotton Center at home, while the Lady Dawgs travel to face Amherst.