The Lady Roadrunners were outlasted by the Chaffey Panthers Wednesday night at Rio Hondo. The Rio Ladies were able to keep the game close but couldn’t overcome a late surge by the Panthers. Chaffey came away with the 54-44 road victory, spoiling Coaches vs Cancer Night for the Lady Roadrunners.

Pink shirts, hats and pompoms were being sold in honor of Coaches vs Cancer Night at Rio Hondo. Coaches wore pink collared-shirts, and the Lady Roadrunners warmed up in shirts that read “Hoops 4 Hope” in pink writing.

Wednesday night’s matchup didn’t go the way the Rio Ladies’ may have hoped, however. Chaffey jumped ahead to an early 5-0 lead in the first quarter, and led by 10 at the half.

At the end of the third quarter, the Panther’s lead was 9, 40-31. The Lady Roadrunners’ showed their grit in the final quarter, though, and eventually took a one-point lead at 41-40.

The fourth quarter rally was started by an and-1 layup by Rio forward Destinee Garr, who was everywhere on the court. She finished with a solid all-around performance, including 9 points, 17 rebounds and 4 assists.

She was putting up numbers, but Garr found herself fouling out late in the fourth as Chaffey pulled away.

Chaffey got a steal on an inbounds play and converted it into points in the final 3 minutes of the game. It increased their lead to 5, and the Panthers didn’t look back.

The Panthers’ defense was able to hold Rio to just three points in the final minutes of the game, solidifying their 54-44 victory.

Panthers’ point guard Briana Sullivan was able to get into the lane all night, finishing with 7 points and 5 assists. After the game, Lady Roadrunners’ coach Rene Herrera spoke about his team’s inability to stop the drive.

“I think it was a combination of both fatigue and effort,” Coach Herrera said. “There were times when our defense was in good position, where we stepped up to stop the drive, but there were more possessions where we either watched or used our hands to stop the drive. Our team knows that defense is played best by moving our feet and talking. This is something we need to continue to work on.”

While their defense may be something that needs to be worked on, the fight in the Lady Roadrunners is unquestioned. The effort the Rio Ladies showed during the Coaches vs Cancer Game was symbolic of who the night was for. Fighters.

“I have always told my team that skill level is not always going to be even but effort and energy is something that can be even,” Coach Herrera continued, “The girls have made great progress throughout the season and you can see the fight in them now. We just have to learn to be consistent in both practice and games to give ourselves a chance to compete.”