With a bad weather system moving into the area Friday night, rivals Prairie Home and Jamestown didn't want to cancel their girls basketball game.
With the host Lady Panthers holding a comfortable third-quarter lead, the freezing rain began to fall outside, causing a Prairie Home school administrator to stop the game and confer with the referees and coaches. After a short delay, action was resumed and the Lady Panthers coasted to a 53-32 win.
"I've been part of a delayed baseball game, but never basketball," said Jamestown head coach E.H. Hirschvogel. "That would have been different, for sure. We would always rather play."
The game was especially important for Prairie Home, which picked up its 20th win and finished second behind Pilot Grove in the Cooper County Activities Association. The Lady Panthers finished the regular season 20-5 overall and 3-1 in the conference.
"We were really happy to get this game in," said Prairie Home head coach Linda Scott. "We're not going to celebrate second place, but we wanted to finish above Jamestown. That was important for us."
With districts beginning earlier this week, Hirschvogel and Scott were eager to get some final work for their players in Friday's matchup. Jamestown ended the regular season 13-11 and 2-2.
"We wanted to tune things up before districts," Hirschvogel said. "Our main goal was to stay healthy and work on a couple things."
Although Prairie Home had beaten Jamestown twice this season entering Friday night, the Lady Eagles kept their previous two games close, especially in the first half. The Lady Panthers came out strong in Friday's opening quarter, racing to a 10-3 lead and building a 24-14 halftime advantage.
"We wanted to get off to a good start," Scott said. "Our goal was to get going right off the bat."
Jamestown tried to rally in the fourth quarter, cutting the deficit to 39-30 after junior Lexi Muri's two free throws. The Lady Panthers responded, however, with a 14-0 run to regain the momentum. Prairie Home sophomore Rachel Distler began the run with a 3-pointer.
Sophomore Shianne Rhorer had 20 points for the Lady Panthers, while Distler scored 15. Lexi Muri led Jamestown with 12 points and junior Alli Muri finished with 11.