The North Platte Lady Panthers played their best stretch of basketball of the season in a 54-37 win over North Andrew on Monday, Dec. 14.
After North Andrew jumped out to a 7-2 lead, North Platte went on a 43-8 run from the middle of the first quarter until the middle of the third quarter to take a 30 point lead against the quality Class 2 opponent.
North Andrew played a 1-3 chaser on junior Josie Roach, the Lady Panthers leading scorer. Other Lady Panthers stepped up to the challenge and answered the bell. After a couple buckets by Roach, Gracelynn Hoffman came off the bench and had a personal 9-0 run as she drained three triples at the end of the first quarter into the beginning of the second quarter. The rest of the second quarter was dominated by the Panther defense and unselfish passing by the Lady Panthers. Lonee French finished the game with six steals, with most of them coming in the second quarter. Kenedie Summers had five steals while Jaylin Burgess had four steals. Gracie Ramsey dished out five assists followed by Ryann Smith, who dished out four assists in the game.
North Andrew came out of its 1-3 chaser into a more traditional 1-3-1 zone to begin the second half. This allowed Roach to go to work on the inside as she scored nine consecutive points while also remaining perfect from the field. The Panthers maintained a 30 point lead after the third quarter while North Andrew made the final margin closer as the JV squads clashed during the fourth quarter.
Roach finished with 11 points on 5 of 7 shooting to go along with six rebounds and three assists. Hoffman had 11 points on 3 of 6 shooting from three-point land. French had eight points, six steals and five rebounds. Alaina Scroggins added six points on 3 of 4 shooting.
Pick up or subscribe to the Citizen now for more sports coverage