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Panthers girls’ basketball prepares for districts with tough end-season schedule

By Sue Sitter - | Feb 12, 2022

Sue Sitter/PCT Panthers Coach Jennifer Brossart talks strategy with her team in its game against North Star on Feb. 3.

The Rugby Panthers girls’ basketball squad faced its toughest tests of the season at home on Feb. 3 and 4 when it faced Region 4’s top-ranked Four Winds-Minnewaukan Lady Indians and North Star Bearcats.

In the Feb. 3 game in Rugby High’s Hanneman Gym, Panthers and Bearcats kept within striking distance of each other for much of the first half.

Kendyl Hager of the Panthers scored first in the game, swooshing a three pointer through the net. Bearcats answered with a three pointer from Lyndsey Nyhagen. Bearcats’ defense kept pressure on the Panthers, cornering them at every opportunity. However, they found themselves in foul trouble, giving Panthers Anna Johnson, Joey Wolf, Joran Jundt and Hager bonus-point opportunities. Johnson shot from the outside, undeterred by Bearcats’ defenders. She landed a three pointer before sinking two more free throws.

The first quarter ended with a razor-thin 16-15 Panthers lead.

Panthers’ defense stuck close to Danielle Hagler, Bearcats’ top threat. Still, Hagler drew a foul and landed one of two bonus shots. Hagler and Gracie Miller would be the only Bearcats to sink buckets in the second quarter. At the same time, two shots landed for Mykell Heidlebaugh, while Wolf moved through a crowd of Bearcats to make a layup shot for two more points. Hager landed another bucket and the half ended with a 24-20 Panthers lead.

“I thought we played lock-down defense tonight. We held their star basketball player to minimal points,” Panthers Coach Jennifer Brossart said, referring to the Bearcats’ Hagler. “Kudos to Joey Wolf and people who had to switch off on her. I was very happy.”

The Panthers put much more distance between themselves and the Bearcats in the second half.

Heidlebaugh kicked the Panthers’ offense into gear by sinking a three-point shot. Jundt and Peyton Hauck moved inside the shooting lane for two buckets apiece. Wolf and Heidlebaugh caused the Bearcats to falter, with each drawing fouls and landing one of two free throws.

Bearcats found themselves shut off from scoring opportunities. Shots taken bounced away from its marks. North Star scored eight points in the third quarter, from Hagler, Miller and Rogue Stevens. Still, Bearcats only managed to score eight points in the third quarter and five in the fourth quarter.

Both teams went to the benches for more players. Mya Geisinger made good on a shot opportunity, landing a three pointer from afar.

Panthers scored 15 in the third quarter and 17 in the fourth quarter. Heidlebaugh led all scorers with 16 points. Jundt added 11 to the total, while Wolf scored nine. Rounding out point totals were Hager with six, Johnson with five, Hauck with four, Geisinger with three, and Savannah McCall with two.

After the game, Brossart noted the Panthers had a slow start.

“We had lots of good looks that first half. We just couldn’t get shots to follow. In that second half, we were even a little slow into the third quarter. But, after that, we got shots to fall,” she said.

“You know, today was probably one of the better games I’ve seen us play,” Brossart added. “This is a good basketball team in North Star. They’ve got a great player in Danielle Hagler and a lot of supporting cast. She had a lot of shots in the first half, and we couldn’t hit some threes. That was the difference.”

Brossart said the key to the Panthers’ win was “we trusted each other. We cut when we had to cut. After that, defensively, we got a nice little boost on the full court press. That changed the tide. Kudos to these girls. We got everybody in the game today and hopefully, get the girls rested up for tomorrow night.”

Although Rugby battled Four Winds to a 42-53 loss at home, it remained undefeated in District 11 and Region 6. Panthers closed out their regular season with another game to test their mettle against Carrington Cardinals.

Panthers and Cardinals battled to a tie in the Feb. 7 game after trading leads and steals for four quarters. Both teams tallied 10 fouls in the second half alone, with Carrington forward Madison Johnson taking two trips to the free throw line and My Giesinger taking one in the fourth-quarter defensive struggle.

With the scoreboard reading 49-49 and set for overtime, both teams battled for the ball. After a Cardinals’ steal resulted in a traveling call, the crowd went wild. Soon after, Johnson sank a three pointer to put Panthers in the lead. Jundt and Heidlebaugh drew fouls, each making two free-throw points. Heidlebaugh drew another and landed two more bonus shots. A foul on Carrington’s Edyn Hoornaert gave her two bonus-shot opportunities. She made one. The final seconds ticked away with the Panthers ahead by eight points before it added a 60-52 win to its record.

“This is good for the girls to face these tough teams as they get ready for tournament time,” Brossart said after the battle against Carrington.

Brossart said Rugby’s game against Four Winds also helped the Panthers.

“That’s a really good team,” Brossart said of Four Winds. “They’ve got great girls, numbers one through seven. With that team, we cannot skip a beat.”

Brossart said she was happy with how the Panthers played defensively in the game against the Lady Indians.

“But, we had too many turnovers again,” Brossart said. “We need to see those kinds of teams though if we’re going to learn to react and we’re going to build. We’re going to have to get better. We’ve got to see that kind of team so we know what to work on.”

Would the Panthers meet Four Winds at state?

“We’ve got to get through districts first,” Brossart said, smiling. “We’re still taking it one game at a time.”