The Dakota Valley Panthers held off the West Central Trojan girls in an emotional roller coaster of a game in the SoDak 16 on Thursday, March 6th. The Panthers advanced to the state tournament with a 53-52 win in Tea.
After the Trojans had a 9-8 lead with 2:30 to go in the opening quarter, Dakota Valley finished the quarter on a 7-0 run for a 15-9 lead. Their run continued into the second quarter. The Panthers pushed the lead to 20-9 in the first minute. They ended the half with a 39-16 lead.
West Central came out of halftime on fire. They went on a 16-2 run to take a 32-31 lead with 2:45 to play in the quarter. They ended the third quarter with a 43-36 lead. Dakota Valley then started the fourth quarter with a 13-0 run. The Panthers led 49-43 with 3:00 to play in the game. The Trojans got within a point, 51-49, but couldn’t overcome the early run by the Panthers. West Central hit a shot at the buzzer down by three points to make the final score 53-52.
Ayla Kramer had 14 points, three rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Kacey Jaton finished with 11 points, seven rebounds, and three assists. Abbi Thornton had 10 points, three rebounds, and two steals. Ellie Knight ended with seven points, six rebounds, three assists, and three steals.
