CRANE The Prairie City girls basketball team came out victorious at last weeks Alycia Jenkins Memorial Basketball Tournament in Crane.

A combination of early scoring, keeping their ball secure and increasing their defensive intensity helped the Lady Panthers claim victory over teams from Crane and Nevadas McDermitt.

The tournament honors a Crane Union High School student who died last June of injuries from a vehicle crash. Jenkins, who was 17, was known for her can-do attitude and athleticism. She was No. 33 on the Crane Mustangs basketball team.

Black said Prairie City Panther athletes who knew Jenkins respected her and her values, including her motto: Never say never, but when faced with struggles, never is exactly what I say: Never give up, never lose hope and never forget God.

The Lady Panthers intensified their practices after two disappointing losses at the Dec. 13-14 Condon tournament.

Their drills on passing paid off in a win, 54-45, over the McDermitt Bulldogs on Friday, Dec. 20.

McDermitt is a young freshman and sophomore team, but is very skilled and physically strong, Black said, adding two McDermitt players combined for seven 3-point buckets in the game.

Prairie City gained a 15-11 lead in the first quarter, but their opponents outshot the Panthers in the second quarter 19-15, tying the score at 30 going into halftime.

It was an impressive first half of shooting from both teams going into the half we knew we needed to rebound better, the coach said.

The Panthers kept their composure.

Krystin Packard was sent in to tame one 3-point shooter in the second quarter, and Jade Evans put in some intense minutes of defense and scored 6 points.

Amy Black, Amaya Zweygardt and Lindsey Stewart also racked up points.

Applying pressure in the third quarter created turnovers which turned into scores.

Prairie Citys intensity won the battle on the boards in the third quarter, adding 12 points to the Bulldogs 7. In the fourth quarter most of the Panther points came from the free-throw line, where they shot 50 percent.

It was a great team effort from the Lady Panthers with this win, Black said. Marika Woodbury continues to have very strong games and is becoming an important leader on the floor. Breanna Doty came in and gave us strength in rebounding and ball security. All of our players are understanding their roles better and better each week.

When the Lady Panthers faced Crane on Saturday, they knew they would need a defensive push from every player right off the bat to stay ahead of the Mustangs.

The Panthers won it, 51-36.

Our goals for the game were: ball security, push the ball up the court hard and try to score in transition, Black said. We did just that and then settled into a half court set and showed a lot of patience in looking for the open shooter.

In the closing seconds of the first half, Crane tied the score at 20, but then Amy Black made a thrilling half court shot from Marika Woodburys inbounds pass.

The Panthers adjusted throughout to keep up the intensity.

It was a good feeling to have the whole team respond so well in only one week of preparation for these quick changes, coach Black said.

She said Woodbury played hard and smart at both ends of the court and left every ounce of energy on the court.

Amaya Zweygardt also played well we feel this was one of her best games yet on both sides of the ball, Black said. She showed us a lot of confidence on defense and offense.

We, the coaches, are very proud of the girls, Black said. We covered a lot of areas that needed fixing, and we didnt expect this great of a response this soon. It was a well-deserved win.

PC boys hit patch of adversity

Illness and injury hampered the Panther boys at the Crane tourney ,where on Friday they lost to McDermitt 33-50.

McDermitt is a team we should beat and would beat if we had a full squad, said coach Mark Woodbury.

The team missed senior Chase McClung, who was out with an injury that week.

It was a tight first half, the score tied at 18, but McDermitt caught fire in the third, outshooting the Panthers 25-5.

The Panthers had a strong fourth quarter, shooting 10 points to McDermitts 7, but it wasnt enough to catch up.

Saturdays game with Crane was closer, the Panthers losing 32-39.

Senior Garrett Lovell got into early foul trouble he returned later in the game and the Bulldogs kept him to 8 points.

Mack Clark really showed his senior leadership in the game, putting his players in the right spots, Woodbury said. Everybody pitched in it was the best four-quarter game weve played so far.

The Panther teams take this week off and return to action Jan. 3 at home against Powder Valley, which has one of the top three boys teams in the state. Game time begins at 3 p.m. for the girls, followed by the boys game.

Prairie City boys lost by 50 to the powerhouse Badgers at their last meeting.

Well see how much better we get, Woodbury said.

Crane will host the Prairie City teams Jan. 4 starting with the girls at 3 p.m.

We want to win that game, Woodbury said. The freshmen and sophomores are doing well with fundamentals thats what we have to do to be better.

The stats

PC Girls

vs. McDermitt

Amy Black: 21 points, 3 rebounds, 2 offensive rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists.

Kailey Kell: 8 points, 3 rebounds, 1 offensive rebound, 1 steal, 2 assists.

Jade Evans: 6 points, 1 offensive rebound.

Marika Woodbury: 5 points, 2 rebounds, 3 offensive rebounds, 1 steal, 2 assists.

Krystin Packard: 4 points, 1 rebound, 1 offensive rebound.

Lindsey Stewart: 3 points, 3 rebounds, 1 offensive rebound, 1 steal.

Breanna Doty: 3 points, 2 rebounds, 1 offensive rebound, 1 steal.

PC Girls

vs. Crane

Black: 16 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 3 steals.

Stewart: 11 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal.

Amaya Zweygardt: 10 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist.

Kell: 8 points, 6 rebounds, 1 steal.

Packard: 4 points, 1 assist.

Woodbury: 2 points, 2 rebounds, 1 offensive rebound, 6 assists, 5 steals.

PC Boys

vs. McDermitt

Garrett Lovell: 8 points.

Mack Clark: 7 points.

Garrett Hitz: 4 points.

Omar Ceja: 4 points.

Ethan Camerena: 4 points.

Devin Packard: 4 points.

Anthony Hall: 2 points.

PC Boys

vs. Crane

Clark: 13 points.

Lovell: 8 points.

Hitz: 6 points.

Packard: 5 points.