Perry, Kansas

The Royal Valley Panthers are on a roll heading into the class 3A state tournament in Hutchinson. With now 3 straight games in Sub State with an average margin of victory at 19 points. That's staggering. Royal Valley's defensive yet again frustrated an explosive offensive team in the Jeff West Lady Tigers that averaged 50 points per game coming in to this 3A Sub State title game.

Blanking the Tigers the entire first quarter to lead 8-0 after the first, Royal Valley looked to be poised to run away with this game shortly after it started. However, there's a reason Jeff West's record was 19-3 coming into the game. The Tigers turned the tide in the second quarter, outscoring the Panthers by 5 to draw within 3 points at halftime 15-12. A third quarter that trended towards the Tigers favor, as Jeff West came all the way back to lead 17-16 halfway through the 3rd quarter, their first lead of the game, but that lead and momentum would not last. Royal Valley regained momentum and closed out the third quarter on a 15-6 run to lead 31-23 at the end of the third quarter. The Panthers continued that streak into the 4th to claim victory for the second time this year against Jeff West by a final of 44-29.

Jeff West season comes to an end after an impressive 19-4 season and climbing all the way up to #2 ranked in the final 3A State basketball rankings (KBCA Rankings). The Tigers will lose one of the best in Big 7 League history in Guard Aliyah Negonsott, who eclipsed 1,000 career points earlier this season and was undoubtedly the leader of this Tiger team.
 

Royal Valley will now move on to the class 3A State Championship Tournament in Hutchinson with a record of 18-5. Their first game will be Wednesday at 4:45 vs Eureka(20-3). Catch the game on 103.9FM KNZA or CLICK HERE to listen anywhere you are. The Panthers are the #6 seed in this years state tournament, and are looking to go on another magical upset run as they did a year ago as the #7 seed.

Scoring

Royal Valley – Mah. Irving – 14, Wak. Irving – 14, K. Thomas – 11, M. Broxterman – 5

Jeff West – A. Negonsott – 8, J. Negonsott – 6, Kr. Biltoff – 4, H. Kahler – 4, M. Roenne – 2, Z. Holthaus – 2.

                              1    2    3   4     F  

    #1 Jeff West – 0 | 12 | 11 | 6 | 29

#3 Royal Valley - 8 | 7 | 16 | 13 | 44