Photo Submitted by Matt Semisch, Bottineau Courant Rugby’s Mykell Heidlebaugh struggles for the ball against Bottineau’s Macey McKibbin in Bottineau on Jan. 22.

The undefeated Rugby Panthers moved into mid-season with its toughest test of the girls’ basketball season so far, followed by another, easier win against two District 11 rivals.

On Jan. 22, the 11-0 Panthers faced a 5-7 Bottineau Stars squad out to prove themselves on its home court in Bottineau.

The Stars took a 13-8 lead in the first quarter when Kylie Simpson moved through the Panthers’ defense to score the first bucket. Another one followed from Stars’ Kyra Beckman. The Stars’ defenders closed in on the Panthers, cornering them and forcing fouls that sent Stars’ Hallie Nero and Triniti Soland to the free throw line.

Panthers’ Mykell Heidlebaugh and Joey Wolf managed to avoid being cornered by Stars’ guards. Heidlebaugh landed the first two points for the Panthers, then Wolf followed with a bucket and a bonus shot after a foul by Nero.

The Panthers fought their way back in the second quarter, trading steals for steals. Shots taken by both sides bounced away from the hoop more times than they swooshed through. Both teams made trips to the free throw line. The game tied on a three-pointer shot by Anna Johnson, then Panthers finished the half with a slim 25-23 lead.

Still, the Panthers fought against the Stars’ press.

“They’re in the 2-2-1 zone and we knew that was going to happen,” Brossart said of the Stars’ coverage.

The third quarter saw the Panthers hold their two-point lead.

In the fourth quarter, “we just battled back,” Brossart said. “I was proud of the girls.”

The Stars’ press on Johnson gave her two trips to the free throw line for four points. Heidlebaugh and Wolf saw their shots hit their targets. Each made good on free throw opportunities for the Panthers. Stars’ Nero and Soland saw their own free throw shots bounce away from their marks, but buckets landed for Kylie Simpson, Kyra Beckman and Emma Aberle. Still, the Stars managed only 11 points in the fourth quarter. The Panthers scored 14 to win the game 53-46, its closest margin of the season.

“Our girls were rusty,” Brossart said after the game. “Their last game was at Drake-Anamoose (Jan. 10). But, no excuses. This was a great test. We’re going to learn for it. We had some girls step up. Joey Wolf had a great game. Mykell had a great game. Anna Johnson had a great shot. I don’t think she sat but a minute. We need all of our girls. We’re going to have games like this, especially on the road on a Saturday. Bottineau played a heck of a basketball game but our girls stepped up at the end and that was what I was most proud of. We were most proud of that as coaches.”

Two days later on Jan. 24, the Panthers showed their home crowd in Rugby High’s Hanneman Gym they’d shaken the rust off.

After establishing a clear 22-6 lead over the Nedrose Cardinals in the first quarter, Panthers leaped to a 61-31 win. Rugby’s defensive players showed little trouble reining in top Cardinals scorer Macey McKibbin, while offensive players Johnson and Kendyl Hager landed three-pointers. Heidlebaugh and Wolf drew fouls and each put six points on the board. Joran Jundt scored one point from a free throw. The pattern continued until the second half, when Brossart said the coaching staff decided to “try some new things just to get ready for the rest of the season. We put a lot of different girls in and they did well.”

Megan Buckmeier, Savannah McCall and Brooklyn Corum came up from the junior varsity bench to play. In the fourth quarter, Corum landed a rebound shot and McCall sank a bucket, while Buckmeier landed a three-pointer.

“It was a good rebound game for us,” Brossart said of the win against Nedrose. “Now, we’ve got Velva coming up for us on Thursday (Jan. 27) and that will be a tough game for us as well. Then, we have Shiloh Christian coming up on Saturday (Jan. 29). But, we’ve got to work on getting past Velva. It’s always more important for us to win the district games and then we’ll go from there. But, Saturday’s going to be a tough one.”

Still, Brossart said the Panthers always focus on one game at a time.

“We can’t look too far forward in our region,” Brossart said. “A lot of teams are playing really good right now — Our Redeemer’s, MLS, Bishop Ryan, Bottineau — we’ve just got to focus on one game at a time and then we’ll take care of the next one after that.”