Lady Panthers best Bronaugh, advance to GVVC title tilt

The Sheldon Lady Panthers knocked off the Bronaugh Lady Wildcats, earning a second consecutive trip to the Golden Valley Vernon County Conference (GVVC) tournament championship game.

The defending champs edged their archrivals Thursday night at Nevada community center, 40-36.

"We came out and played aggressive from the very beginning," said Sheldon head coach, Jacob Well. "We were getting easy lay-ups, and our defense was good."

Sheldon led by as much as 13, but the Lady 'Cats chipped away, trimming the deficit to three, before ultimately succumbing to Sheldon.

For the Lady Panthers, senior guard Mahalia Swink detonated for a game-high 26 points. The victory advances No. 2 Sheldon today's 5 p.m. title clash with top-seeded Montrose.

In the other girls' contest Thursday, Montrose bested fourth-seeded Hume, 57-37. In the boys' games Thursday, No. 1 seed Montrose throttled No. 4 Ballard, 58-19 — while No. 2 Miami nipped NEVC, 44-43.

Despite the loss, NEVC advances to face Montrose in the title game, tonight at 6:30.

"Due to the nature of the seven-team tournament-bracket, seeds No. 2, 3, and 6 compete in pool-play," said NEVC head coach and athletic director Jenny Allard. Additionally, NEVC is the tournament's host-school, and Allard is tasked with overseeing the tourney.

"After tonight's games, there (was) a three-way tie on the boys' side," Allard explained. "The first tie-breaker (was) point differential, with a 15-point cap; thus, NEVC (advanced) to the championship game. The second tie-breaker (was) head-to-head record, so Hume will play Ballard in the third-place game at 3:30 (today), and Miami will play in the consolation game at 12:30."