The FZN girls basketball team's historic season will continue as the Panthers defeated Francis Howell 54 - 42 to claim their first district title since 1983! The Panthers will now advance to the sectional round of the MSHSAA Class 5 playoffs where they will face top-ranked Jefferson City High School. The game is set to take place at Maryville University this Wednesday (3/6) at 7:45 pm. Against Howell, the Panther attack was led by Jaden Stahl who notched a game-high 15 points for the Panthers and played stellar defense throughout the contest. The duo of Jessica Clausner (14 points) and Jordyn Grimes (11 points) both scored in double-digits to aid the Panther scoring effort. The always reliable Dajah Robinson and Jerrica Moody added 7 points a piece to add to the Panther point total. Robinson a four-year varsity starter, who has scored over 1000 points for her career, led a stingy Panther defensive effort that saw the Panthers create a defensive nightmare for the Vikings throughout the contest. Senior Katie Grimes, who has been a mainstay in the Panther line-up for three seasons, hit a pair of long-rang three-point baskets to help the Panthers pull away from the Vikings in the game's final period.
The Panthers now stand at 21 - 4 on the season. This is also the first 20 win season for the program since achieving the feat in back-to-back seasons in the early 1980's. In addition to the District title, the Panthers also claimed the conference crown (GAC Central) by completing a perfect 10 - 0 conference record. The conference title was the first for the program since 1982. The Panthers, who won 18 games as recently as two seasons ago, stumbled to a 10 - 18 record last season. Head Coach Jeremy Rapp credited, "a change in offensive philosophy" as one of the keys to the Panthers sudden turn-around. In addition, Coach Rapp noted, "This team is far more mature than the team we had a season ago.(The Panthers did not have a single senior in 2018) The girls really bought in to what we were trying to accomplish. All season long they've had a great attitude. I've been really pleased with the effort."