The Permian girls basketball team played its first game in two days with a 40-34 win over Andrews Monday in nondistrict play at Permian Fieldhouse.
The Lady Panthers improved to 5-1 for the season while the Lady Mustangs fell to 1-4.
“I was really afraid of this game because Andrews plays so hard,” Permian head coach Michael Ellis said. “They play a lot like us. They always play hard and always have a chance to win. That’s why I was so nervous heading into this game. But we got the win.”
Permian’s Bailey Wight and Kimora Pierce each had 13 points to lead the Lady Panthers while Nisi Gomez had four.
Andrews was led by Tori Rodea had seven points while Karley Colbath and Allyson Fulford each had six.
“We’re getting there,” Andrews head coach Dylan Ballard said. “We’re getting close. We’re a lot more competitive now than we have been. It’s been a process of trying to instill a different culture on this team and play faster but we’re getting closer. It’s tough competition that’s going to get us going in the right direction.”
Andrews began the game on an 8-4 run.
It stayed at a four-point game for most of the first quarter.
A transition basket brought the Lady Panthers to a two-point deficit with 1:21 left in the quarter.
Wight hit two free throws to tie the game up at 8 as the quarter ended.
A basket by Charlize Rondan put Andrews ahead 12-10 before the Lady Panthers responded with an and-one by Wight on the other end of the floor to take a 13-12 lead.
A 3-pointer by Briseyda Sanchez gave the Lady Panthers an 18-14 lead at the half.
Permian gradually pulled away in the third quarter.
A layup by Permian’s Alyssa Vasquez made it 24-16, with 2:52 left in the third quarter.
Permian’s lead was 26-20 at the end of the third.
Pierce began the fourth quarter by making two free throws to extend the Lady Panthers’ lead.
Pierce scored from the paint to make it 30-21 with 5:51 left.
A free throw by Wight gave the Lady Panthers a 33-23 lead with 4:29 remaining.
Andrews tried to close the gap on Permian but the Lady Panthers maintained their lead in the closing minutes of the game.
“The key word for us is pressure,” Ellis said. “That’s what we work on every day. We had to put pressure on them and the more we can ramp up that pressure, the more we can swing the pendulum towards us. We feel like we had a good fight.”
Permian will turn right around and play Abilene High at noon Tuesday on the road before taking the rest of the week off for Thanksgiving.
