Only one weekend of the regular season remains for Jefferson High basketball. This weekend they travel to Belgrade on Friday and host Townsend on Saturday for Senior Night. Play begins at 3 p.m. in Belgrade, with varsity girls at 6 p.m. and varsity boys t 7:30 p.m. Saturday’s action gets underway at 1 p.m. and the varsity girls play at 4 p.m. followed at 5:30 p.m. by the varsity boys.
This past weekend found the Panthers at Ennis Thursday and at home against Big Timber Saturday.
LADY PANTHERS BATTLE ENNIS
The Lady Panthers faced a tough battle with a big, talented Ennis team and led most of the way. Unfortunately for the Panthers, the game slipped away at the end.
The teams exchanged leads in the early going. Tied at six after a basket by Leah Vossler and a pair of baskets by Ellie Evertz, the Panthers saw Ennis take an 8-6 lead. But the Panthers mounted an assault with a three, a two and another three, all from Aubrey McMaster. Ennis scored once late in the quarter and the Panthers were up 14-10 at the end of one.
Ashley Pankratz started the second with a basket and then fed Callie Warfle for two to give the Panthers an 18-12 lead. The next seven points went to Ennis, though, putting them in the lead. Pankratz answered with a two and McMaster followed with a two to give the Panthers a 22-19 lead but Ennis tied it at 22 at the half.
Vossler started the third quarter with a steal and fed McMaster for two and then hit a three to keep the Panthers up 27-25. Ennis hit the next five points and then Evertz went to work under the basket, hitting six straight points. The Panthers held a 36-31 lead after three quarters.
Three free throws by Evertz increased the Panther lead to 39-33 with 6:00 left in the game. The next nine points went to Ennis before Vossler hit a three to stop their run and tie the game at 42. The teams were tied at 43 with 2:39 remaining but then the lid went over the Panther basket and Ennis knocked down seven straight points to take a 50-43 lead. Evertz scored in the final seconds, but Ennis went on to win the game 50-45.
Evertz led the Panthers with 14 points, followed by McMaster with 13, Vossler 9, Pankratz 6, Warfle 2, and Emily McGinnis 1.
BOYS’ GAME WITH ENNIS CLOSE MOST OF THE WAY
The boys’ game saw the Panthers outscored 17-8 in the first as the Panthers struggled to find the range. Hayden Guisti kept the Panthers going with rebounds and four points. Britton Peterson and Josh Eckmann each added two points.
The Panthers woke up in the second. Eckmann hit seven points in the first two minutes, Jaxson Yanzick scored, and Guisti followed with a two to put the Panthers up 20-19 with 4:44 left. Eckmann added another four points in exciting fashion, stealing the ball and dribbling down court, sizing up the option to dunk but playing it safe with a layup that set the score at 24-19. Ennis hit the final five points of the half to tie the game at 24.
The Panthers hit the first six points of the third quarter, partly courtesy of a Guisti steal. Every time the Panthers would make a run, though, Ennis would come back with a run of their own. Bryce Harrington kept the Panthers in the game with three baskets, Eckmann and Peterson added points, and the Panthers held a slim 38-36 lead heading into the final eight minutes.
Guisti started the fourth with three baskets, Yanzick added one and Eckmann put the Panthers up 48-38 with 4:50 left. The Panthers held a lead the rest of the way and Eckmann hit five of six free throws in the final seconds to give the Panthers a 55-45 win.
Eckmann finished with 26 points and Guisti was also in double digits with 17.
HERDERS TOO MUCH FOR THE BOYS
Big Timber was the next team the Panthers faced, this time at home with the boys hitting the floor in the first varsity game of the evening.
The Herder boys are sitting in second place in 5B and have some sharp shooters that like to put up the three pointers. The Herders came out gunning and opened up a quick 8-2 lead in the first two and a half minutes. Eckmann sank a free throw, and an old fashioned three by Harrington made it 8-6, Herders, but that was the last points the Panthers would get in the quarter. The Herders went on to lead 16-6 at the end of one.
The Panthers cut the Herder lead to seven with scoring by Guisti and Eckmann but the Herders closed out the half with an 8-2 run to take a 26-13 lead at the half.
Guisti started the third with a steal and score, and Eckmann fired up a three, but the Herders led 37-22 after three. The Panthers had their best quarter in the fourth, outscoring the Herders 18 to 10, but it was not enough and the Herders took the win 47-30. Eckmann, who stands second in the conference in points per game, finished with 17.
LADY PANTHERS DEFEAT BIG TIMBER
The Lady Panthers started the first quarter against Big Timber by hitting five of six free throws, two by Evertz and three by McMaster. The first Herder points of the game was a three with 4:00 minutes left in the first. Vossler stole the ball, was fouled, hit one free throw, Evertz hit a two, and the Panthers led 8-5 at the end of one.
McMaster started the second with a two and a free throw and Ashton Oxarart hit a two. Two baskets by Haydin Henschel, a free throw by Callie Warfle and four points by McMaster gave the Panthers a 23-16 lead at the half.
A three by McMaster started the third, and Pankratz, Warfle and Evertz added points. Emily McGinnis hit a pair of free throws and Vossler stole the ball and scored to give the Panthers a 39-23 lead at the end of three.
The lead increased to 42-25 with 5:40 left in the game and the Panthers went on to take the conference win 48-36. McMaster had 24 points, Evertz 9, Henschel 4, Warfle 3, Vossler 3, Oxarart 2, McGinnis 2, and Pankratz 1.
