JOHN DAY — Survive and advance.

The Prairie City/Burnt River girls basketball team bounced back from a slow start to down a game Huntington squad 40-27 in the opening round of the High Desert League championship tournament on Thursday, Feb. 16, at Grant Union High School.

Both teams started slow, with the Lady Panthers clinging to a 7-5 lead in the waning stages of the first quarter. A Laken McKay three would put the game at 10-5 and give the Lady Panthers some much-needed breathing room. 

Huntington would add another score following McKay’s three to leave Prairie City/Burnt River with a 10-7 lead after one quarter of play. Betty Ann Wilson would score the first four points of the second quarter to give the Lady Panthers a 12-7 advantage with just over a minute having passed in the second.

The Lady Locomotives would keep it close, drawing to within three at 14-11 to force a Lady Panther timeout. Prairie City/Burnt River would get their offense going following that timeout, going on a nine-point blitz capped by a McKay field goal at the end of the quarter to take a 25-11 led into intermission.

The Lady Locomotives would hold the Lady Panthers to just four points in the third quarter. Despite that, the Lady Panthers still held a 29-18 advantage headed into the final quarter of play. 

The Lady Locomotives would strike first in the fourth, scoring the first three points in the period to cut the Lady Panther lead to eight at 29-21. Prairie City/Burnt River would settle in, however, outscoring the Lady Locomotives 11-6 the rest of the way en route to a 40-27 win.

Jaycee Winegar led the Lady Panthers on offense, finishing the night with 16 points. Wilson added eight for Prairie City/Burnt River and McKay finished with five.

“Huntington played hard. They had nothing to lose, and they were wanting it,” said Lady Panther head coach Bo Workman.

“We were kind of dead and we didn’t shoot the ball very well. I thought our defense was good … we just couldn’t make a basket,” he added. 

The win earns the Lady Panthers a date with Jordan Valley in the league semifinal with the winner punching their ticket to the state tournament as well as to the High Desert League championship game. Tipoff is slated for 1 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 17, at Grant Union High School.