The Pana Panthers will head out on the road to square off against the Gillespie Miners at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Pana is no doubt hoping to put an end to a nine-game streak of away losses.
On Monday, Pana had to suffer through a rough 54-26 loss at the hands of the Hiltoppers. Pana was in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 29-8.
Despite the loss, Pana saw an underclassman step up: Joey Laker scored 11 points along with four steals. That was a full 42.3% of Pana's points, marking the third time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points.
Pana struggled to get the ball back on offense and finished the game with only two offensive rebounds. They are winless (0-3) when they can't control their own glass like that.
Meanwhile, Gillespie beat the Panthers 54-45 on Monday. Given Gillespie's advantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 156th, while the Panthers are ranked 367th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Pana has been struggling recently as they've lost eight of their last nine games, which put a noticeable dent in their 5-25 record this season. As for Gillespie, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won eight of their last nine matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 23-7 record this season.
Pana lost to the Miners on the road by a decisive 53-38 margin in their previous meeting back in November of 2023. Can Pana avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
