With the season about halfway over, the Panthers basketball team is 2-9 so far. At the recent Bluestem Classic, Great Bend placed 7th overall. The boys have less than ten games left in the regular season. “Our goals for the rest of the season are to get back in the WAC race, compete to our fullest potential every night, and prepare for substate,” said Coach Chris Battin. The coaches do not plan on changing anything. “We need to continuously improve. This group has improved a lot and they’re playing with confidence. …Part of it is the schedule we’ve played,” said Battin. The Panthers have taken on the third and fourth ranked teams in 4A and the fifth ranked team in 5A. They are going to be playing the second and fifth ranked teams in 4A soon. “We are staying focused on ourselves and getting better as a team right now. We had a break from games this week and it’s gave us a perfect opportunity to get healthy and to focus on getting better as a team,” said senior Quinton Elliott.

The Panthers are taking a short break until they play their next game due to the girls playing in a tournament in Lawrence. Their next game is at home against Salina Central on February 2nd. That night is senior parent recognition night for all of the winter sports.