Prairie City/Burnt River’s Reece Jacobs cuts through the Imbler defense on Saturday, Dec. 16, 2023, at Prairie City High School.

PRAIRIE CITY — The Prairie City/Burnt River Lady Panther basketball team hosted the third-ranked Imbler Lady Panthers in a catfight on Saturday, Dec. 16, during the second day of the 13 Mile Shootout, staying close early before Imbler pulled away to hand Prairie City/Burnt River a 43-31 loss.

Prairie City stuck with the third-ranked Imbler squad early, playing them mostly even to trail 17-15 after one quarter. Imbler would then go on a run, scoring seven unanswered points to open the second quarter and take a 24-15 lead.

A pair of free throws would see Imbler take its first double-digit lead of the game at 28-17 with 4:25 left in the half. The teams would play even through the remainder of the first half, with Imbler maintaining a 32-21 lead headed into halftime.

Both teams would search for offensive consistency to start the second half, with Imbler outscoring Burnt River/Prairie City 7-4 through the first six minutes of the third quarter to increase its lead to 14 at 39-25. Prairie City/Burnt River would Imbler 8-4 in the third and put themselves within striking distance at 39-29 headed into the final quarter of play.

Imbler would struggle offensively in the fourth quarter, managing just four points in the period. Prairie City/Burnt River couldn’t capitalize on the scoring drought, however, managing just two points of its own in the fourth to fall 43-31.

Leading the Prairie City/Burnt River team on offense was Savannah Watterson, who finished with 13 points in the game. Jaycee Winegar chipped in 12 points for the Lady Panthers, and Reece Jacobs added six points for Prairie City/Burnt River.

The loss was the second of the 13 Mile Shootout for the Lady Panthers, who fell to Adrian 51-33 the previous day at Grant Union High School. Prairie City/Burnt River is 2-5 on the season following the 13 Mile Shootout and has not played a High Desert League game to this point in the season.

The Lady Panthers will look for their first win in four games when they travel to Powder Valley for a non-league matchup on Thursday, Dec. 21. Start time is scheduled for 6 p.m.