Lady Panthers deliver smackdown to Lady Wildcats in season opener

by John Earp

The first game of the season opener for the Lady Panthers against the Lovington Lady Wildcats started out a bit iffy Tuesday evening for the Lady Panthers, with Lovington pulling ahead 6-2 early on. The Lady Panthers rallied back a bit, closing the gap on the scoreboard to just one point, with Lovington leading 7-6. The Lady Panthers then pulled ahead 9-8 before the Lady Wildcats regained the lead, 11-10. The Lady Wildcats then proceeded to extend their lead 16-11 over the next several minutes, with several very hard-fought points. The Lady Panthers then started really gaining momentum, and in due course were able to pulled ahead 20-19, eventually winning 25-23. In the second game, the Lady Panthers pulled ahead 11-8, and then maintained their momentum for the next several minutes, pulling further ahead, 19-12. The Lady Panthers continued to lead, though the Wildcats fought back hard. The Lady Panthers came out on top 25-18 in the second game.

The Lady Wildcats came out fighting in the third game, pulling ahead of Jal 18-13. The Lady Panthers rallied back though, closing the gap to just two points. The Wildcats won the third game. The fourth game of the match exhibited the same close competition as the previous games had shown, with the Panthers leading 14-12 about halfway through. The Panthers won the fourth game 25-18, thus winning their opening match of the season on a high note. The Lady Panthers showed a lot of discipline, teamwork, heart and skill in their game Tuesday, and certainly demonstrated that they have what it takes to do well this year.