There is no ‘quit’ in the Jefferson High Lady Panthers.
Anyone who doubts that was not paying attention to the Southern B Divisional Basketball Tournament in Billings over the weekend.
Trailing by nine points with 2 minutes and 26 seconds on the game clock, the JHS girls poured in ten points in 50 seconds as part of a 15 point string that led to a first round win over Red Lodge.
Behind by seven, 50-43, in their second round game, they rallied over the next two and a half minutes to tie the score. The rest of the game remained close and was still tied with 51 seconds on the clock. Unfortunately for the Panthers, the victory went to Colstrip by four points despite the Panthers’ continued battle to the end.
Down by as many as 12 shortly after half time, the Panthers once again pushed themselves back into the game Saturday morning against St. Labre. Only three points separated the two teams at the 59 second mark and again with 11 ticks remaining. Once again the Panthers came up a little short, but they gave it their all and left the floor to appreciative fan applause.
The result was the end of the season, missing a trip to the state tournament by the slimmest of margins. Add five points to their game on Friday or Saturday and they would be going to the big dance. That is indeed a performance to be proud of.
PANTHERS RATTLE THE RAMS
The first Panther game at the divisional was against the Red Lodge Rams, the first-place team out of District 4B. The Rams opened the scoring but Aubrey McMaster and Leah Vossler gave the Panthers a 4-2 lead. Red Lodge ran off the next nine points to go up 11-4 before Vossler hit a three, setting the score at 11-7, Rams, at the end of one quarter.
Callie Warfle started the second with a two, Emily McGinnis added a basket and then connected on a feed from a Vossler steal. McGinnis next sank two free throws to complete the Panther eight point run, and the JHS girls were on top 15-11.
The streak then switched to the Rams, who scored the next seven points to end the half out front 18-15.
With the start of the third quarter, the momentum swung to the Panthers. Ellie Evertz scored 12 seconds in, Ashley Pankratz added a basket, and McMaster tied the score at 21. Next the Rams took over, running off seven unanswered points, five from free throws, before McMaster netted a bucket to end the quarter with a 28-23 lead by the Rams.
In spite of a nice assist by McGinnis that resulted in an Evertz basket, the Rams stretched their lead to ten, 35-25, with just over four minutes left. While that may have worried Panther fans, it did not stop the “never give up” Panther players. McMaster cut into the lead with a three, and Red Lodge went into a stall. A pair of Rams free throws set the score at 37-28, Rams, with 2:34 left.
Eight seconds later, the Panthers mounted what may have been the fastest comeback in JHS history. Pressuring the ball, the Panthers relied on Vossler as she recorded three steals that resulted in a pair of buckets by McMaster, two by Vossler and one by Pankratz. The ten unanswered points and full court pressure rattled the Rams into a traveling call that gave Evertz a chance to sink another bucket that gave the Panthers ten unanswered points in 50 seconds and the lead, 38-37.
A free throw by Warfle, a strong rebound by Vossler, a five-second call against the Rams, a steal by Evertz, and four free throws by McMaster added up to a 15 point run that gave the Panthers a 43-37 advantage.
With six ticks left, the Rams missed two free throws and then sank two others, but they could not overcome the Panther turnaround and JHS celebrated a 43-39 win.
McMaster led the Panthers with 19 points. Vossler added 9, Evertz 6, Pankratz 4, Warfle 3 and McGinnis 2. Vossler recorded seven steals, demonstrating a skill that has troubled her opponents all season, and Warfle contributed another four steals.
As a team, the Panthers outshot the Rams by hitting 36 percent from the field, including a pair of threes, compared to 27 percent and no long balls by the Rams. The Rams collected 15 points from 24 free throw attempts, while the Panthers only had eight free throw opportunities and made the most of it by hitting seven. Fifteen steals lifted the Panthers and only 14 turnovers versus 21 by the Rams helped spell the difference in the game.
SEMIFINAL WITH COLSTRIP
The win put the Panthers into a Friday evening semifinal with Colstrip. The Fillies had finished first in District 3B and entered the game with only one loss on the year.
The Panthers made it look easy in the early going. McMaster swished a three, Evertz added a pair of free throws, and McMaster sent another three through the hoop to give the Panthers an 8-0 lead. But Colstrip was not about to go down that easily and the Fillies tied the game before McMaster added a bucket. A five point run by the Rams put them out front 13-10, and McMaster increased her total with another basket. When the clock ran out on the first quarter, the Fillies were up by two, 14-12.
The opening minutes of the second quarter belonged to the Fillies, who outscored the Panthers 10 to 4 in the first three minutes. Evertz got the Panthers started on the road to recovery, and Warfle collected a three the original way to pull the Panthers within three. A McMaster basket plus a Pankratz free throw narrowed the gap to a single point, but Colstrip padded their lead before Pankratz hit a three with 16 seconds left. A buzzer three by Colstrip gave the Fillies a 32-27 lead at the half.
The Panthers started the third with free throws by McMaster and Evertz and then took the lead on a three by McMaster. Colstrip answered in kind to get back in front. For the next five minutes, the Panthers had a tough time sinking shots from the field and had to rely mostly on free throws to stay in the hunt. An old-fashioned three by McMaster with 22 seconds left in the quarter set the score at 47-43, Fillies, going into the final eight minutes.
A two by Pankratz, a three by Vossler and two free throws by McMaster pulled the Panthers back even with the Fillies, 50-50. With barely four minutes to play, the Panthers kept it close and were tied again at 55 with 51 seconds left. Colstrip turned to control ball, forcing the Panthers to foul to get possession, and the game ended with the Fillies on top 60-56.
In a rough and tumble game that had some fans shaking their heads over several non-calls, McMaster still managed to score 32 points, a tie for the most points scored in a game at JHS. She was 7 of 12 on two pointers, 3 of 6 on threes and 9 of 14 for free throws in the game.
Evertz chipped in 9 points, Pankratz 8, Vossler 4 and Warfle 3.
THE BATTLE WITH ST. LABRE
The loss to Colstrip put the Panthers into a loser out game Saturday morning with St. Labre played at Rocky Mountain College.
Points by Vossler, Warfle, Pankratz and McMaster were not enough to keep up in the first quarter, which ended with the Braves ahead 12-7.
The Panthers were showing tired legs after the game the night before with Colstrip, and several shots landed short of the rim. McGinnis started the quarter with a two but then the turnovers started to mount. A three by McMaster and a two by Vossler made it 18-14, Braves, with 3:25 left in the half, but that the last Panther scoring for the quarter, which ended at 22-14, Braves.
The Braves stretched their lead to 26-14 before the Panthers got on the scoreboard again. Vossler got the difference back into single digits with a three, but the Panthers just could not seem to get any breaks. Down 32-20 with 2:29 left in the third, the Panthers mounted an assault with a long two and a free throw by McMaster plus a three by Pankratz, and the St. Labre lead was trimmed to six. The quarter closed with a 36-28 Braves lead.
The Panthers appeared to turn up the heat in the fourth quarter, hustling and scrambling to keep the ball out of the Labre hands, while connecting on three treys. But the Braves stayed in the game by stalling and hitting their free throws. A three by McMaster narrowed the lead to three, 48-45, with 59 seconds left, but the Panthers were forced to foul. Trailing 50-47 with eleven seconds left, and with starters Warfle and Pankratz on the bench after fouling out, the Panthers just ran out of time and lost 51-47.
That brought the Panther season to an end, but not without earning the team admiration for their hard work.
McMaster led the Panthers with 21 points, followed by Vossler with 9, Pankratz 8, Evertz 6, McGinnis 2 and Warfle 1.
Three Forks won both the boys’ and girls’ titles. The Three Forks girls have not lost a game this year and are favored to go all the way at the state tourney.
Joining the Wolves on the girls’ side are Colstrip, Townsend and St. Labre. Boys making the trip to Missoula from the Southern B division in addition to the Wolves are Lodge Grass, Colstrip and Joliet. The state tournament starts Thursday and runs through Saturday at the University of Montana.
