Cole Slaubaugh (left) and Isaiah Bundy-Smith (right) try to get the ball from Four Winds’ Bronson Walter.

Neither the Rugby Panther boys nor girls got past the Four Winds-Minnewaukan Indians.

The boys basketball team fell 72-54 on Tuesday, and the girls fell 55-43 last Friday-both games held on the Panthers’ home floor.

Fresh off a 46-25 win against North Star the day before and with a no. 6-ranking earlier that week, the Rugby girls fell behind on a 6-3 Four Winds run early but then scored seven unanswered points in two minutes and 30 seconds to take a 10-9 lead by the end of one quarter.

In the second quarter, both teams scored 14 points apiece. Rugby held a 24-23 lead going into halftime.

Just seconds into the third quarter, Four Winds briefly took the lead after a successful trip to the foul line for Ezura Rainbow, followed seconds later by a bucket from Latasha Bellile. Tesha Sobolik had a Panther rebuttal for two of the Four Winds’ early four points. The Indians would chip in 13 more points while holding the Panthers to four on the quarter for a 40-30 lead over the Panthers at the end of three.

The Indians widened the gap on a 10-2 run that continued into the fourth quarter. The Indians outscored the Panther girls 15-13 on the quarter to take the win.

“We came out flat, we turned the ball around, I think we had five to six turnovers to start the game, and it went downhill from there,” said Panther girls head coach Jen Brossart.

While the girls contended with Four Winds, the Rugby boys took to the road that same night and won 92-44 over the Drake-Anamoose Raiders. The next day, Four Winds-Minnewaukan took its first loss on the season, falling 54-53 to Thompson in Grand Forks.

With the loss, the Indians fell to second while the Panthers climbed up to first in polling from the North Dakota Associated Press Sportscasters & Sportswriters Association going into Tuesday’s boys game. The Panther girls fell to ninth while the Indians advanced to sixth in the polls.

The Indians struck first Tuesday, netting five points in 38 seconds. The Panthers would net four three-pointers-three from Jaden Hamilton and one from Isaiah Bundy-Smith-and would briefly take the lead away from the Indians after a successful trip to the foul line for Warren Walker. The Indians scored six unanswered points for a 24-18 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Indians added 11 more points in the second quarter while holding the Panthers to five.

The Panthers and the Indians were neck-and-neck in scoring in the third quarter, with the Indians scoring 16 points to the Panthers’ 15.

The fourth quarter saw the Indians add 21 more points to their lead, while the Panthers scored 16.

“I think Four Winds has a heck of team and they were tougher than us tonight,” said Panther boys head coach Mike Santjer. “They defended us and [when] we got a little tired and the outside shots didn’t go, they were just tougher than us and we didn’t respond like I was hoping we would.”

After receiving a first round bye, the Panther girls played their first game of the District 11 Tournament on Friday. The District 11 Girls Basketball Tournament continues today at Nedrose High School in Minot.

The Panther boys travel to Minot on Tuesday, Feb. 18, for a region matchup against the Bishop Ryan Lions.