Lady Panthers Fall to Mesa Vista in State Tournament
By John Earp
The Lady Panthers Basketball Team (18-12 overall; 6-4 in district; ranked 60th in state) took on the Mesa Vista Lady Trojans (27-2 overall; 10-0 in district; ranked 18th in state) Tuesday in Rio Rancho in the NMAA Girls State Basketball Championships.
The Lady Panthers struggled to keep up with Mesa Vista from the start. With one minute and six seconds remaining in the first period, and they trailed 3-10. At the end of the first period, Jal had four points after a successful free throw by Natalia Rivera. Mesa Vista was leading 18-9. The Lady Panthers continued to struggle and trailed by about 10 points for most all of the 3rd quarter, at the end of which the score was 32-22, with Mesa Vista in the lead. For the majority of the 4th quarter, Mesa Vista continued to dominate and was pulling ahead, extending their lead to as many as 15 points. Jal was able to rally somewhat in the last couple of minutes, but the Lady Panthers simply were not sinking enough of their shots, percentage wise, possibly due to being nervous. The final score was 54-42.