MONTICELLO – In one of their final games of the season the Lady Panthers nearly upset the S.S. Seward Spartans. The Spartans were up 7-3 after the first quarter with the majority of scoring coming from the foul line. It was a very “handsy” opening quarter and both teams collected several reaching fouls to start the game. Monti Panther, Adila Redzematovic drained a 3-point goal early in the 2nd quarter to keep the score close. Reiley Schloicka scored an easy layup for the Monties as the clock wound down to halftime. Redzematovic led the Lady Panthers in scoring. She was one of two players, including Naralie Rodriguez, of the Spartans, to end the night in double digits. There were more than 10 jump balls by the start of the third quarter. Both teams were looking to gain ball control from the other at every possession. It was only a five point game with the Spartans holding the lead as the game went into the fourth quarter. In the final quarter both teams were forcing turnovers and had lots of lost possessions which slowed the play slightly at both ends of the court. After a missed shot attempt by the Spartans, the Panthers grabbed the rebound and a fastbreak attempt gave the Lady Panthers a 23-22 lead, their first of the game.The Spartans quickly took the lead back with Rodriguez drawing the foul on a reaching call. She closed out the play, hitting the shot at the line and the two teams would trade the lead in the fourth. Despite immense effort by the Lady Panthers including a buzzer beating attempt by junior, Morgan Hutchins, the Lady Panthers came up short again. The Spartans took home the win on the road with a 26-25 win over the home team.