Savannah Watterson lines up a three-pointer during her team’s win over Sherman in the opening round of the OSAA 1A basketball tournament on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023 in Prairie City.

ST. PAUL — After thumping Sherman 58-35 in the opening round of the OSAA 1A State Basketball Tournament, the Prairie City/Burnt River Lady Panthers took their show on the road for a matchup with seventh-seeded St. Paul on Friday, Feb. 24.

After battling back from a single-point scoring effort in the first quarter, the Lady Panthers suffered a heartbreaking 48-44 loss to end their season.

The first quarter was perhaps the lowest-scoring quarter for the Lady Panthers all season as they managed to put just one point on the board. The Lady Buckaroos, in contrast, went on a 10-1 run, taking a nine-point advantage into the second quarter of play.

Jaycee Winegar would respond, hitting a field goal in the paint and drawing a foul to bring the Lady Panthers to within six at 10-4 with just :10 gone by in the second. A pair of Betty Ann Wilson field goals would further cut the Lady Buckaroo lead, which now stood at 13-8.

Winegar would again hit another timely bucket down low, this time getting the Lady Panthers to within four at 14-10. St. Paul would get back on track, hitting a two-point field goal and a massive three-pointer to reclaim a nine-point lead at 19-10 late in the second quarter.

The Lady Buckaroos would hit one more three-pointer with less than 1:00 to go in the first half to take a 22-14 lead headed into the intermission.

The third quarter would see the Lady Buckaroos take their largest lead of the game at 10 following a field goal to open the third quarter. That lead would swell to 28-16 with 5:35 left in the third quarter following a steal and layup by the Lady Buckaroos.

An incident that may have had some effect on the outcome of the game occurred during that layup as Lady Panther senior Kat Ashley was injured defending the shot. Ashley’s injury deprived the Lady Panthers of her catch-and-shoot skill in critical game moments, as she did not return to the game.

The Lady Panthers would battle back, however, with Wilson and Savannah Watterson hitting field goals and free throws late in the period to cut the Lady Buckaroo lead to just four at 33-29 headed into the final quarter of play.

Once again the Lady Buckaroos would give themselves some breathing room, hitting a pair of free throws with 6:19 left in the game to give themselves a 38-31 lead.

The Lady Panthers just wouldn’t go away, however, clawing back into the game and drawing to within three at 42-39 following a Brooke Teel three with 3:36 left in the game.

A Lady Panther field goal with just over 1:00 remaining would tie the game at 42, but victory was not in the cards. The Lady Buckaroos would ice the game with free throws, hitting a pair with 1.3 seconds left to win 48-44.

Wilson had a monster game in her swan song as a Lady Panther, finishing with 16 points on the evening. Teel finished with eight points and both Watterson and Winegar finished with seven points each.

“We started out kind of flat and slow, but they played great defense. Defensively, we took their strengths away, and the other team did a good job taking ours away,” Lady Panther head coach Bo Workman said.

“The girls fought hard and they played hard. They wanted it, and the ball just didn’t roll our way,” he added.

Workman summed up the season by saying he was proud of his team and that they shouldn’t hang their heads about what they did or didn’t accomplish this season.

“I’m proud of the girls and I thought they had a wonderful season, and they should not be ashamed of anything that happens,” he said. “That’s just the way it goes. It’s sports.”

The Prairie City/Burnt River girls basketball team finished the 2022-23 season with a 22-6 overall record coupled with a 2-2 league mark.