The Panther Girls Basketball Team may have lost the game, but their comeback in the fourth quarter made their coach proud.

“I came away with more pride in the team with that loss than I have from some wins,” said Coach Jennifer Brossart.

The team started out rattled when a senior leader, Emily Paul, seriously injured her knee in the very beginning and was out for the game. The first two quarters the Panthers lost ground as they tried to fill in the gap on their team. At half time the score was Minot Ryan 18 to Rugby’s 8.

After halftime other team members stepped up and got their team game on.

“It was a joint team effort with senior Crystal Hovland leading the way,” said Brossart. “Tessa Koenig came back in the second half and made 11 points in a row including a three-pointer.”

Freshman Allison Volk had a good off- season workout and it showed as she brought her play up a notch to meet the teams’ need. The coach said she will start in Thursday’s (Dec. 16) game on the first day of the Girls Central North Dakota Conference Tournament in Maddock. Brossart said her eyes were opened to what some of these younger athletes could accomplish.

In the third quarter, the Panthers gained 15 points to Minot’ s 10 making the score after that quarter 41-30 in favor of the Lions.

It was the fourth quarter that made Brossart most proud as the girls pulled together to create some exciting action in the game. The fans responded by standing and cheering the Panthers on.

“When you lose to a team like Ryan, considering that the girls had to deal with an injury to a leader, coming back from a 19 point deficit and losing by two points, you come away with a smile knowing your girls are never going to give up,” said Brossart.

She said she told the girls if they learn to play the whole game like they did that fourth quarter, there won’t be many teams that can beat them.

The Panther girls have their eyes on a District title and will be working for that goal. With five seniors and some very good younger athletes on the team, they just might do it.