Winning streaks for both the Rugby Panther boys and girls basketball teams continued earlier this week.

The Panther girls, who ranked third in Class B girls as of Monday’s North Dakota Associated Press Sportscasters & Sportswriters Association polling, improved to 3-0 in District 11 play and 11-0 overall after a 61-17 win over the Drake-Anamoose Raiders Monday in Drake, and a 62-22 home win over the Westhope-Newburg Sioux days earlier.

The Panther boys, who ranked second in the latest NDAPSSA poll, improved to 8-0 overall after a win on the road Tuesday against Westhope-Newburg, and wins against the Harvey-Wells County Hornets and the Des Lacs-Burlington Lakers days earlier.

In the game against the Raiders Monday, the Panther girls had two shutout quarters. The Panther defense held the Raiders to zero points, allowing the offense to score 16 by the end of the first quarter. In the second quarter the Raiders not only got on the board, but broke double digits. The Panthers meanwhile added 12 more points for a 28-10 lead by halftime. The Panther girls then broke further away in the third quarter, chipping in 21 more points while holding the Raiders to zero on the quarter. The fourth quarter would see the Panthers outscore the Raiders 12-7.

Against the Sioux girls, Rugby worked up a 13-point lead in the first quarter while holding the Sioux to just four-all of them coming from trips to the free-throw line. In the second quarter the Sioux managed two three-pointers, while the Panthers grew the deficit further after adding 24 more points on the quarter. The third quarter saw the Panthers add 20 more points while holding the Sioux to just five. The fourth quarter saw the Sioux outscore the Panthers by a thin 7-5 margin.

The Panther girls will travel to Bottineau on Jan. 21, with the C squad starting play at 4:15 p.m.

In the boys’ own game against Westhope-Newburg Tuesday, the Panther boys got the lead early on an 11-2 run and had control of the game after that point. By the end of the first quarter, the score was 24-2 in the Panthers’ favor. In the second quarter the Panthers outscored the Sioux 17-9 for a 41-11 lead going into halftime. In the third quarter, the Panthers chipped in 23 points while holding the Sioux to six. In the fourth, the Panthers added 10 more points while holding the Sioux to six.

In the game days earlier against the Hornets, Rugby got to a 25-12 lead by the end of the first quarter, and a 46-29 lead by halftime. In the third quarter, the Panthers added 24 more points while holding the Hornets to 10. In the fourth quarter the Panthers added 20 more points while Harvey scored 14 for a 90-53 final score in the Panthers’ favor. The game was also the second time on the season the Panthers’ scoring output broke into the 90s against the Hornets-the first being during the CNDC Boys Basketball Tournament.

But the day before, the Panthers broke 90 against a different opponent, the Lakers. The Panthers worked up a 30-11 lead by the end of the first quarter. That soon grew to a 54-30 lead by halftime. The third quarter would see Rugby score 29 points while holding the Lakers to just seven. The fourth quarter would see the Panthers outscore the Lakers by a razor-thin 11-10 margin, leading to a 94-47 final in the Panthers’ favor.

The Panther boys traveled to Cando Thursday for a game against the North Star Bearcats. Next Thursday the Panthers will host Nedrose.

– Tribune Staff Report