Lady Panthers finish the weekend 2-2.

The Lady Panthers are exhausted, aching and (some) injured... just like the end of an exchange weekend should be. They are tired, but smiling contentedly from an overall performance which indicated that they have a good deal of potential to carry forward with them as they continue to work toward the upcoming IASAS tournament in February.  Things look promising indeed.

Following Friday's victory over JIS, the Lady Panthers lost a run-and-gun shootout against a Selangor Select team 67-55.  Later in the day the Panthers were able to overcome their cross-town rivals Mont Kiara International School in the first of many clashes of this season 49-32.  Both games featured presses on both sides of the floor and a good deal of fast breaks. The major difference was that the Panthers, who missed close to 15 lay ups in the morning game, came back to be nearly flawless from under the basket against Mont Kiara.

Sunday morning found them playing a rejuvenated Jakarta International School team that was looking for revenge for their loss from Friday night. This time JIS was too strong and did everything right. The Panthers, staying close for much of the first half (down by 8 at half time), were unable to deal with JIS's offensive weapons and size in the second half.  The final result was a 55-33 defeat to the Dragons to finish off a long and tiring, but highly rewarding weekend.

The Panthers will rest on Monday and Tuesday and recuperate physically and emotionally, and then return to practice on Wednesday in preparation for a Thursday game at Mont Kiara and a Saturday league game versus the Selangor B team. 

Panthers Beat Jakarta in a Thriller!

The Lady Panthers returned to the gym after a day off to face IASAS runner up Jakarta International School this evening. It was a nervous start for both teams as the JIS Dragons started the game without key starters. For the first quarter the game went basket for basket for each team with no one taking a commanding lead. Finally the Dragons jumped out to a five point lead early in the second quarter.

The Lady Panthers made necessary adjustments to their defensive formation, moving to a 2-3 zone defense and putting on a 3/4 court press in place of a more traditional 3-2 zone used at the outset. The results were much better as the Panthers caught up and, led by Yoon Hei Cho, made up the difference going into half time.

The second half saw a continuation of the hard-nosed play from both teams, with a good deal of ball movement. JIS attempted to take advantage of their size as they pushed the ball into the key, while the Panthers used their perimeter movement more successfully as the game wore on.  The dual approach of full court pressure and offensive plurality allowed the Lady Panthers to take a three point lead by the end of the third quarter. 

As the pressure mounted and both teams tried to get the upper hand, the fourth quarter quickly turned into a battle of will.  As the Panthers had a hard time dealing with the pressure in the key, they could not rely on their regular show of points from Taylor Pewitt. Instead, it was Larissa Kuscher who kept them going in the second half. Added to this were some clutch shots from Laurel Smith, Lauren McMillan and Mora Grehl to ice the game.

The Panthers led with 4 with just under 2 minutes remaining in the game and, as the seconds wound down, it was evident that this time they would not let the game slip away. They held on and dealt very well with the full court JIS pressure to finish off the game with a hard-earned 43-39 victory, their first IASAS level win in three years!

Selangor State a Good Learning Opportunity

Sometimes you have to play against teams that are much more experienced. Sometimes you need to use games as learning experiences and grow as the game progresses. This was just such a game.

The Selangor State team which will be playing in the Malaysian National Championships came into town tonight and outplayed the less experienced Lady Panthers at most levels. Taller, faster and more powerful the Selangor State team was simply overpowering for the Panthers. That being the case, the Panthers used the game as a learning opportunity and a chance to grow and deal with high pressure situations including full and half court presses and trapping.

The final score, a 60-32 loss, was probably an accurate reflection of the difference in experience between the two teams at this juncture of the season. We use it, however, as a chance to recognize the level of play we need to strive for, and to develop solid movement and communication both offensively and defensively.

The Lady Panthers hope this experience will come in handy as they look forward to the four games over the weekend. These should provide a better indication of our level of preparation against teams of our level and experience as we take on the Jakarta International School Friday and Sunday and Mont Kiara on Saturday.

Panthers Come Up Short in a thriller

Missing three players (Zarina, Shoko and Casey) and having to wait for an hour-long delay in game four the Lady Panthers were, none-the-less, intent on starting off strong against a tall Selangor A team.

For the first few minutes the Panthers seemed to be quite nervous as they turned the ball over on six of their first eight possessions. However, as the game progressed the Panthers were able to deal with the intense Selangor helf-court and full court pressure and put up some pressure of their own. The 3-2 defense worked quite well for them as the game went back and forth throughout.

The final quarter found the Panthers down by 5 with two minutes remaining. A frantic full-court pressure to finish off the game saw the Panthers come to within one with thirty seconds left to play, but they could not finish on top, losing in a heart breaker 37-34.

The Panthers were, once again, led by Taylor Pewitt with14 points, and Yoon Hei Cho added another 10 for good measure. The fourth quarter of the game was arguably the most intense defensive effort of the year and the Panthers showed that they can compete against anyone.

The coaches were content with the performance and particularly the defensive effort, even if the result was not ideal.

The Lady Panthers hit the floor again tonight at 6 pm, playing against another Selangor Team.

Lady Panthers come up Big in game three!

After two difficult losses to open the season and after a long break between games the Lady Panthers returned to the scene of their last defeat, the Cheras Community Recreation Center on Saturday.

Having been two weeks since their last game the Panthers were pumped up and ready to roll for this one. The past weeks were spent working on defensive adjustments and on playing with aggression and it became obvious from the tip-off that practice was about to pay off. A solid half-court press resulted in three early turnovers for the opposition as the Lady Panthers started strong and never looked back. Scoring 18 points in the first quarter was just a start and, though there were lulls in the offensive production, the Panthers were moving, passing, spacing themselves very well on offense. Defensively they played with poise, patience and a good deal of agression.

The result was largely due to a great performance by Mora Grehl, who led the team at point, Taylor Pewitt, who scored a career high 22 points and collected a good number of offensive boards as well, and Lauren McMillan whose improvement has been marked under the boards. resulting in a season-high eight points. Joined by Larissa Kushcer whose play was excellent on both ends of the floor and Yoon Hei Cho's eight points on offense, this was a great team effort. The performance of each and every player was far superior to earlier showings. Of particular note was the ease of offensive change-over when presented with different defensive 'looks' from the opposing team.

After a long-fought battle the Lady Panthers had managed their first win of the season and seem to be much more cohesive as a team on the court. The final score of 56-27 was a testament to the work the girls have put into their game in the past two weeks and a hopeful glimpse of their potential.

We look forward to an action-packed week of games next week, starting with a 7:30 pm game versus team Gary A. We hope to see a good number of parents, family and friends there to support our Panthers!!

Thursday Game rescheduled... Happy Thanksgiving!

Due to the significance of Thanksgiving Day for our US citizens, it was deemed appropriate to re-schedule the originally-planned Thursday night game to Wednesday at 6:00 pm. In lieu of a game, Thursday can now be appropriately spent celebrating all that we have to be thankful for. A very Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

Game Schedule set for Next Week

After a long hiatus of game drought, suddenly the floodgates have opened and a deluge of games have been slated for next week. The schedule includes the first game versus Mont Kiara and two games versus our IASAS foe Jakarta International School. Given the number of games, it would be great to see many family members and friends there supporting your very own Lady Panthers!

Tuesday, November 25: Home vs Gary Team A @ 7:30 pm
Thursday, November 27: Home vs Gary Team B @ 7:30 pm
Friday, November 28: Home vs Jakarta International School @ 7:00 pm
Saturday, November 29: Home vs KL Select @ 10:30 am
Saturday, November 29: At Melawati vs Mont Kiara @ 2:30 pm
Sunday, November 30: Home vs Jakarta International School @ 9:30 am

Please note that all games are accurately noted as of November 22nd but sometimes there are changes made to the schedule due to unforeseen circumstances. Please check in with the Activities and Athletics Office to confirm.