<\/p>\n
The Montezuma-Cortez Lady Panthers split games on Friday and Saturday to head into Christmas break with a 5-1 record.<\/p>\n
On Friday, the Panthers stayed undefeated, beating Navajo Prep, 45-35.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe executed everything we wanted to,\u201d said head coach John McHenry. \u201cGood assists, good press, good communication, full of energy.\u201d<\/p>\n
But on Saturday, the Panthers were handed their first loss of the season by the Aztec Tigers, falling 41-27.<\/p>\n
Kiselya Plewe scored M-CHS\u2019 first basket, but the Panthers would go nearly three quarters without another field goal.<\/p>\n
They also struggled from the free-throw stripe, hitting just 3-of-11 free throws in the first half and connecting on just 11-of-26 in the game.<\/p>\n
The Tigers were unbothered by the Panthers\u2019 full-court press, occasionally using long baseball passes to score layups on the other end and jumping out to a 10-3 lead after the first quarter.<\/p>\n
In the half-court, Aztec worked the ball around the Panthers\u2019 2-3 zone to connect on open three-pointers to extend its lead to 11 at half.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel that Aztec did a really good job of controlling their offense,\u201d McHenry said. \u201cThey went deep into their rotation to get a good shot. They\u2019d have a dozen passes then sink a three. They\u2019d get you tired, then they\u2019d score on you. That\u2019s a quality possession.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Panthers, however, turned the ball over frequently, managed to score just five first half points and went without a field goal in the second or third quarter, trailing 25-9 to start the fourth.<\/p>\n
M-CHS was flustered by the Tigers\u2019 1-3-1 zone, throwing skip passes that were easily picked off. But even on open looks they just couldn\u2019t seem to get the ball to go in.<\/p>\n
\u201cShots weren\u2019t falling,\u201d McHenry said. \u201cIn the fourth quarter there Kelcie (Ralstin) finally got unwound. It\u2019s not that we haven\u2019t seen that, because we\u2019ve seen 1-3-1 and we have an offense for it. We were just forcing too many things trying to get it inside.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ralstin broke the Panthers\u2019 field-goal drought with a three-pointer, and then went on to hit three more triples in the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n
However, it was too little too late, and Aztec held on to win 41-27.<\/p>\n
Ralstin finished with a team-high 12 points, all coming off fourth-quarter three-pointers, while Plewe, Gabby Wolf, Cortney Cashner, and Simone Lopez each added three points.<\/p>\n
The loss is the Panthers\u2019 first of the season, after starting out with five straight wins, but McHenry views it as a positive.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis game is kind of a blessing, because as we come back from the break it will be Monte Vista and Centauri, two top-ten ranked teams,\u201d he said. \u201cSo I\u2019m going to spin this as a blessing, kind of to humble us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think if we went in 6-0 we might have been a little cocky,\u201d he continued. \u201cBut now that we\u2019ve been humbled up a bit, we\u2019ll come into the gym and work a little harder and tune each other up.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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