And, of course, the Panthers still have Mandy Brink.

Panama held Clymer to 7 first-half points on 1-of-13 shooting and 16 turnovers, and Brink scored 29 points to go along with eight assists and seven steals as the Panthers beat the Pirates 50-28 in a Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association Division 2 West rivalry game at Panama Central School.

“Their defense is tough, but mentally, we weren’t even in the gym,” Clymer head coach Dave Bodamer said. “It was a wasted opportunity for a game like this. You only get so many games like this in your life. I think we just totally wasted the night.”

With the victory, the Panthers improved to 13-4 overall, including 9-0 in the league. They will have a chance to clinch at least a share of the league title Tuesday when they host second-place Sherman (13-4, 9-1).

Panama’s Mandy Brink drives to the hoop as Clymer’s Ellie Bodamer defends during Friday’s CCAA Division 2 West game in Panama. P-J photo by Matt Spielman

“We take it one game at a time. Our league is tough. Westfield is good, Clymer is good, Sherman is good, Chautauqua Lake can be good,” Panama head coach Dennis Hinsdale said. ” … We have to be ready. When you are sitting at the top, the target is on your back. … You have to have your ‘A’ game every night.”

Clymer fell to 12-5 overall and 6-4 in the league, and was eliminated from title contention, with the loss.

“With this points system, who knows where we’re going to be,” Bodamer said of the postseason seeding. “To win sectionals, we’re going to have to go through (Panama) or Sherman or both. We’re going to have to step it up big time.”

For the game, Panama scored 14 points off 23 Clymer turnovers.

“We stress defense. We work hard at it every day in practice,” Hinsdale said. “I thought we played good defense, but I know we can play better.”

Brink, the third-leading scorer in Section VI, scored 11 points during a 13-2 first quarter. The Pirates’ Makenna Woods made it 2-2 early on, but Panama scored the final 11 points of the quarter and Clymer went 0 for 7 with six turnovers over its final 11 possessions of the period.

“She’s the go-to girl. Generally speaking, she creates a lot of open looks for others,” Hinsdale said of Brink. “Tonight, we just didn’t shoot well. We’re a better shooting team than we showed tonight.”

It didn’t get much better in the second quarter for the Pirates. They turned the ball over on nine of their first 10 possessions in the period and didn’t make a field goal for the entire eight minutes. Fortunately, they converted 5-of-6 foul shots in the final 44 seconds to make it 21-7 at halftime.

“At halftime, I told them I didn’t think it was too much to overcome,” Bodamer said. “We were lucky to be in the position that we were in … we only gave up 21 points. … I said ‘Let’s go have a second half. We can do something.’ We chose not to.”

Abby White’s 3-pointer early in the third quarter pulled Clymer within 12, but the Pirates would get no closer the rest of the way.

Alexys Neckers scored 10 of her team-high 15 points in the fourth quarter for Clymer.

Kylie Morgan chipped in 12 points and seven rebounds for Panama, which now looks toward Tuesday and its second matchup of the season with second-place Sherman. In the teams’ first meeting Jan. 5, Brink had 23 points in the Panthers’ 50-38 victory.

“It’ll be tough. We have to play better than we did tonight,” Hinsdale said. ” … We’ll have to be ready.”

NOTES: Kaitlyn Horton grabbed seven rebounds for Panama, which shot 19 of 53 (35.8%) from the field, including 2 of 16 from 3-point range, and turned the ball over 15 times. … Abby White had eight rebounds; Neckers had five rebounds and two steals; and Aurora Ordines had three assists for Clymer, which was 10 of 47 (21.3%) from the field, including 2 of 17 from 3-point range. … Panama won the jayvee game 48-10. Kiera Loberg led the Panthers with 16 points, while Kiersten Olson and Jessica Lyon had 8 apiece.

CLYMER (28)

Ordines 0 0 0, Heslink 0 0 0, AWhite 1 4 7, Woods 1 0 2, Nyweide 0 0 0, NWhite 1 0 2, Burchanowski 0 0 0, Neckers 6 2 15, Bodamer 0 0 0, Johnson 1 0 2. Totals 10 6 28.

PANAMA (50)

Brink 11 5 29, Schauman 0 0 0, Greene 1 2 4, Morgan 5 2 12, Horton 2 1 5, Range 0 0 0, Markham 0 0 0, Odell 0 0 0. Totals 19 10 50.

3-point goals–Brink 2, AWhite, Neckers.

Clymer 2 5 9 12 — 28

Panama 13 8 17 12 — 50

Jayvees: Panama won 48-10.