With a five point lead with 3:29 left in the game it seemed as though the panthers would make it out of their first round sectional game with a win. It all went downhill from there, the panthers losing to the Columbus East Olympians 28-33.
The panthers’ season has been plagued with injuries, and that continued through their Sectional game. Sophomore Addy Blackwell was limited in minutes Tuesday night because she was coming back from an ankle injury. Even with limited minutes, Blackwell led the team with 18 points.
After falling behind 10-2 with two minutes left in the first quarter, one Blackwell steal, layup, and three-pointer later the panthers closed the gap to make it 10-7. Lauren Leal made a layup to make it a one point difference.
The panthers came out of halftime playing strong defense, both teams only scoring four points during the third quarter.
To start the fourth quarter the panthers caused many Olympian turnovers, to give themselves a five point lead. Panther turnovers took over from there. The panthers attempted to stall, but ended up with turnovers. Columbus went 12-15 from the foul line in the fourth quarter to take the win.
Columbus East moves on to face Bloomington North at 6 p.m. on Friday night at Columbus North.
The panthers finished the season with a 10-12 record.
