The Ellsworth Panthers defeated the Somerset Spartans in overtime on Tuesday in Somerset by a score of 51-49.

It was a nailbiter of a Middle Border clash that Ellsworth needed to win in order to maintain their second-place spot in the conference.

Somerset pulled out to an early 6-2 lead, but the Panthers’ top scorer Molly Janke got a pass out on the right corner of the perimeter and didn’t miss, which pulled them within one. Moments later, a smooth steal by Kayla Kressin quickly set up a three-pointer by Emma Brown and the game was tied up at 10 a piece with 12:00 to go in the opening frame.

The score continued to flirt with a tie throughout the first period, but the Panthers seemed to always be the one playing catchup. Some nice defensive plays kept Ellsworth close, including a block by Morgan Halverson to keep some points off the board.

With just under 3:00 to play, Somerset held a three-point lead at 22-19 when Janke did it again, this time hitting a three from a pace off the top of the key to tie it up. This kicked off an 8-0 run to end the period that had the Panthers on top at halftime, 27-22.

The Spartans worked their way back into a tie throughout the opening portion of the second period, and with 9:00 yet to play, they had the lead over Ellsworth at 38-37. That’s when Halverson picked up an assist by kicking the ball out to the top right corner to Brown who drained another three to retake the lead.

Somerset promptly took a two-point advantage back, but this time Aubrey Wittenberg stepped up for the Panthers, sinking a three from the same spot as Brown to take the lead right back at 43-42.

This is the kind of back-and-forth boxing match of a game it was throughout. Multiple defensive gems from Halverson including two blocks and a steal helped to keep the game dead locked, and at 49-49, the second period ended.

Overtime was a strong defensive 4:00. Each team had a chance at the free throw line, but both came away empty.

Wittenberg and Janke each had a steal, but none of their collective 15 on the game were bigger than the one Janke pulled off from under the basket with 0:07 left on the clock in OT. With Ellsworth looking for a field goal for the victory in the final seconds, the shot missed, and Somerset came up with a rebound with just enough time for one final drive and shot at the buzzer.

Instead, Janke slapped the ball away from the defender, recovered it and took the shot.

The ball went up, off the backboard and cleanly through the net as the clock expired and the buzzer rang. The final score was Ellsworth 51, Somerset 49.

On the night, the Panthers filled out the box score with 31 rebounds, 14 assists and 13 steals.

The player of the game was Janke with 22 points. She co-led the team in three-pointers (three) to go along with her eight rebounds, four assists and three steals. Kayla Kressin also had a good night racking up 12 rebounds and seven steals.

It was an up and down game for the Panthers, but Janke thought they kept their composure well against a solid team.

“They were relentless on defense, and we improved a lot throughout the game with limiting turnovers, which helped us a lot,” Janke said. “As time was running out in overtime, I was just thinking about getting the ball back. I made an impulsive decision to go for the steal, and it ended up in our favor.”

Janke says that their maturity has shown a lot throughout their past few wins. Their schedule is tough, but she says they try to control what they can. 

Head Coach Jason Janke says they feel good about getting the win against Somerset who has a great team and basketball culture, despite their skewed record from coming out on the wrong side of a few very close games like this.

“It is an extremely hard place to get a road win. Our girls fought, Somerset answered our every run, and luckily, we answered theirs,” Janke said. “We told the kids that usually that team with the momentum going into overtime, like Somerset with their late 3 to tie it up, comes out on top. We were fortunate to play very good defense and get some critical rebounds and steals.”

Coach Janke says that although they’re still working on some things, the team has settled into midseason form. It’s going to be a long road in a competitive conference before possibly arriving at a conference championship, though.

 “Our kids understand their roles very well, it's one of our strengths. We have very unselfish players who understand that buying into your role is how teams succeed. We are strong there, but I think we probably feel like all MBC teams at this point, it's just way too early to tell. Obviously, Baldwin has the upper hand with no losses, but Altoona and Prescott are in a great situation as well. However, I think any team in our league can beat any other on a given night,” Janke said.

Indeed, just as Janke said, it’s looking like it’s going to be at least a four-team race in the Middle Border Conference. Baldwin-Woodville is out in front at 4-0, and three-time incumbent Middle Border champion Prescott is in a three-way tie with Altoona and Ellsworth for second place at 3-1.

This wraps things up for 2023 Panthers girls’ basketball. Basketball resumes when Ellsworth hosts Turtle Lake on Tuesday, and MBC play will resume when Ellsworth plays in Osceola on Friday. Tip off for both of those games is at 7 p.m.