Playing in Maxwell last Friday night, the Los Molinos Bulldogs had too much bite for the hometown Panthers, who fell 35-24 in the varsity girls game, before the varsity boys saw their three-game win streak come to an end in the nightcap, by a score of 55-41.
It was a game-long struggle for the young Panther girls’ squad, as the Bulldog defensive pressure, as well as the strength of Los Molinos in the paint, hampered the team’s ability to score.
Fatima Cano posted a team-high 11 points for Maxwell, who fell to 0-2 in the Five Star League and 4-12 overall.
In the late game, despite being down just four points at intermission, the Panther boys (10-9, 2-1) were outscored by the Bulldogs 36-23 in the second half and, as a result, suffered their first FSL setback.
It was a physical contest to be sure, with a combined 41 fouls committed, and Maxwell, which has a number of players also participating in soccer, seemed to run out of gas in the final period.
With just over five minutes remaining in the game, the Panthers did pull within five points, but had a hard time containing Los Molinos’ big man, Karson Seaman, one of the Northern Section’s leaders in both scoring and rebounds, down the stretch.
Dillon Dry followed up a team-high 19 point effort in Maxwell’s 64-33 win over CORE Butte last Tuesday night, with 12 points against the Bulldogs, while Ignacio Velazquez chipped in with 10 points.
Both Panther teams are back in action, having faced Redding Christian in Palo Cedro on Jan. 25, then returning home to meet Chester the following evening, and concluding the week by welcoming Burney to town on Jan. 28.■
