Eli Pace / epace@skyhinews.com
Middle Park girls basketball downed Sheridan 66-28 on Tuesday, winning the Panthers’ last three games to close out their regular season.
The girls are now 12-5 overall and 9-1 in the Frontier League heading into the postseason play. With that record, the Panthers are ranked No. 2 and will host a district playoff game at home 6 p.m. Tuesday.
That’s not bad considering Middle Park is a pretty young team and will graduate only three seniors — Briana Baker, Abby Smith and Torri Quinn. They were all honored on Tuesday night, senior night, along with the seniors on the boys basketball team, Middle Park Nordic teams and the cheerleaders.
Baker, whose coach and teammates call her B.B., has been a team leader all year, coach Mike Reigan said, adding that she’s been a team captain, one of the Panthers’ leading scorers and rebounders, and she’s started every game.
“She’s been very crucial,” Reigan said.
Meanwhile, Smith’s presence on the court and in practice hasn’t gone unnoticed either. She has been a valuable part of the team, and she’s the type of player who makes everyone around her that much better, according to her coach.
Quinn, who’s previously played for the Panthers but decided to be the team’s manager this year, has been a true asset taking care of the team and making sure everything goes off without a hitch.
“She’s the person I depend on to make sure all the stuff is packed for away games and just do all the things that have to be done off the court,” Reigan said. “She does all of those things.”
The girls hoops team is on a roll with wins over Sheridan, St. Mary’s and Platte Canyon in its last three contests.
“I’ve been really pleased with the last three or four games,” Reigan said, adding that from here on out, they just need to take things one game at a time.
Middle Park will return to action at 6 p.m. Tuesday at home. The boys will play afterward at 7:30 p.m.