Panthers Edge Polar Bears

February 10th, 2015

Tyler Peterson-NSO

The South Ridge Panthers welcomed the Floodwood Polar Bears to town for a Polar League conference match-up. The Panthers would squeak by the Polar Bears, winning 64-61.

The Panthers held a slight 29-28 lead at the half. The game would remain closely contested throughout as the second half score was 35-33 in favor of the Panthers as they grabbed the conference victory.

A balanced scoring attack propelled the Panthers to victory. Mikayla Olesiak scored 20, Justice Janke tallied 15, and Krystal Karppinen dropped 14, including 4 from deep, to lead the team to victory. Also scoring on the night was RyAnna Anvid with 8, Celia Olesiak with 3, and Gracelynn Otis and Meredith Cherne rounding it out with 2 each.

In the loss for the Polar Bears, Alyssa White had a game high 22 points, which included 6 three pointers. Following White was Mikayla Koivisto who added 12, Marissa Johnson who pitched in 9, Megan Aho who tallied 8, Mary Rohde who added 7, and Honna Hendrickson who topped it off with 3.

The Panthers improve to 15-5 on the season and will look to win their 5th straight when they travel to take on the Barnum Bombers. The Polar Bears fall to 11-10 on the year and will look to bounce back on February 12th when they host the Cromwell Cardinals.

Tyler Peterson can be contacted at tpeterson@northlandsportsonline.com