Lady Panthers overcome 13-point deficit to defeat Pecos in semifinal action at NRG tournament

The Peñasco Lady Panthers are a quiet, 10-0. With two victories under their belts at this year's Northern Rio Grande (NRG) basketball tournament, Peñasco is poised to come away with another championship this season as they prepare for the NRG title game against the Mora Rangerettes Jan. 7.

The latest teams to fall to the explosive Lady Panthers were the Questa Lady Cats who capitulated to the smothering Lady Panthers, 71-26 in the opening round Jan. 5. In that first game, Carly Gonzales scored 19 to lead all scorers – including eight other Lady Panthers – in a game that was decided early in the contest.

In the semi-finals, Peñasco faced another Lady Panthers team, as Pecos (class 3A) was able to fend off the Mesa Vista Lady Trojans to win their opener in overtime, 60-48 Jan. 5. The resilient Peñasco squad was able to come away with a convincing win despite trailing for most of the game. Down by as many as 13-points, Peñasco finally found their offensive rhythm late in the game to win, 68-59. In the comeback victory Adrianna Tafoya scored 16 points to lead all scorers. She was joined by six other scorers from Peñasco, including Carly Gonzales who added 15, and Bianca Contreras who pumped in an additional 13.

Due to an inclement weather, all scheduled NRG tournament games started one hour later to account for safe travel by all visiting teams Jan. 6.

The Lady Panthers conclude their 2017 NRG experience with a championship showdown against district rival Mora Jan. 7. Tip-off for the title game is scheduled to take place at 6:30 p.m. at Pojoaque Valley High School in Jacona.