In a game marred with countless turnovers, the Bonney Lake Panthers managed a 61-56 win Friday over Mount Rainier in Class 3A subdistrict action at Foster High School in Tukwila.
The win gives the Panthers the subdistrict’s No. 3 seed in the West Central/Southwest District tournament which starts Saturday.
Friday’s matchup was the Panthers’ first action in eight days.
Bonney Lake had an 8-2 lead with four points from Emily McCoy in the opening period.
Bonney Lake only trailed twice in the game, first in the early part of the first quarter, then after Mount Rainier went on a 9-3 run for an 11-10 margin.
A Marcel Pounds’ jumper and 3-point basket from Cheyanne Clark put the Panthers ahead 16-13 at the end of the first period.
The Panthers went up by seven, 23-16, on Carli Elwin’s putback, but the Rams came back to cut the lead by four.
Brittany Kennedy, who finished with nine points, drilled a 3-pointer, then McCoy scored off an offensive rebound and Pounds hit her second 3-pointer of the game for a 33-24 halftime lead.
Rani Wiegand and McCoy were a force on both end of the court. They combined for 10 points in the first half, but caused the Rams problems with rebounding and blocked shots.
“Rani and Emily had a good game. The offensive boards is what kept us in the game,” Panther head coach Tom Ostrander said. “We played alright in the first half, but it was little frustrating.”
In the third quarter, Bonney Lake had problems scoring with just eight points mostly due to turnovers, while the Rams scored 13.
Bonney Lake led 37-29, but a 9-4 Ram run cut the Panther lead to three at 41-38 entering the final stanza.
Wiegand opened the fourth with a 3-point play off a layup, then a Pounds assist to Rochelle Murray off a steal gave the Panthers a 46-38 margin. Bonney Lake built a 10-point lead off a 11-3 run with less than 5 minutes to go.
Bonney Lake went to the free-throw line 17 times in the fourth quarter, connecting on 10 shots. Three Mount Rainier players fouled out in the game.
“They’re a good team, but we committed too many turnovers,” Ostrander said.
Wiegand scored a team-high 17 points and Pounds hit for 14.
Bonney Lake faces the winner of the Port Angeles/Capital subdistrict matchup at 8 p.m. Saturday at Clover Park High School in Lakewood. A win would match the Panthers against the winner of the Prairie-White River contest at 6 p.m. March 3 at the ShoWare Center in Kent.
If the Panthers lose Saturday, they will face the loser of a Union-Tyee matchup at 6 p.m. March 3 at Clover Park.
“We have some things to work on and go back to the drawing board,” Ostrander said. “Our motto is we are 0-0 after every game and each game in the playoffs is a new season.”
