Josie Roach, above right, scored 19 points in the Panthers 43-36 loss to North Andrew on Jan. 17 and scored 19 points in the Panthers 47-42 win against Plattsburg on Jan. 21.
For the first time this season, the North Platte girls’ basketball team (13-4) lost back-to-back games, but the Panthers bounced back with a big conference win against Plattsburg (8-7) on Jan. 21.
After falling to Chillicothe (14-2) in the Lawson Tournament Championship Game, the Panthers received their first non-tournament loss in more than a month when North Andrew (12-5) pulled out a 43-36 victory on Jan. 17. The Panthers controlled the first half, but the Cardinals soared back in the final two quarters.
North Platte led 11-6 after the first quarter and went into the locker room with a 16-9 margin, until North Andrew had a strong third period to go up 26-25. Josie Roach’s 19 points weren’t enough to come out with the victory and the Panthers fell by seven.
When the Panthers and Tigers stepped onto the floor at Plattsburg High School, there were 32 minutes of hard fought basketball with neither team gaining much of a lead throughout the first half. North Platte and Plattsburg were knotted at 14 after the first quarter before the road team took a 27-25 lead at the break.
The Panthers extended the 2-point lead in the second half and went up 38-31 entering the final frame before coming out with a 47-42 win. The road victory gave North Platte its third conference win in just as many tries.
“Plattsburg was a good game for us,” North Platte head coach Karl Matt said. “It was close throughout the game and it was nice to pick up a conference road win in a tight spot. “
Roach led all scorers with 19 points and Karli Guinn’s 10 points helped North Platte in the KCI matchup. The Panthers will move ahead as the No. 3 seed in the highly competitive North Platte Tournament where six of the eight teams have a winning record.
“We have a really tough tournament coming up and it will be interesting to see how we compete against some really tough teams,” Matt said.