Last Wednesday evening was a frustrating night for Ed Feibig, the head coach of the girls’ basketball team at Mehlville Senior High School.

Feibig’s Panthers opened up the first round of the Borgia Invitation with a disappointing 45-36 loss to Washington, in which they shot a dismal 14 of 44 (31.82 percent) from the field. The Panthers’ head coach summed up the game in just a few sentences.

“We didn’t play very good,” Feibig told the Call. “We played flat and were just standing around. It was one of those games where you think you’re working hard and you’re really waiting around for things to happen.”

The Panthers (11-7, 2-3 Suburban West) struggled throughout the first half as they fell behind 26-12 after two quarters of action. The Panthers mustered to trim Washington’s 14-point lead as they brought the score to 33-25 going into the fourth quarter of play.

The Panthers’ leading scorer was sophomore forward Michelle Senf with 14 points, 10 rebounds, one assist and two steals.

As Mehlville found itself in the consolation bracket of the Borgia Invitational, it squared off against Union in the semifinal last Saturday evening as the Panthers came away with a 66-55 victory.

“We were ahead most of the time,” Feibig said. “But they (Union) were a scrappy little team.”

Union launched an arsenal of three-point shots against the Panthers in which they racked up 36 points from three-point range.

“They (Union) just fired up threes from everywhere,” Feibig said. “But our kids stepped up and played hard.”

Mehlville’s leading scorer was freshman forward Kayla Gordon, who had a season- high 18 points, nine rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots. Also having another solid evening was Senf with 13 points.

The Panthers played for the consolation championship of the Borgia Invitational against Sullivan last Monday evening after the Call went to press.

But Mehlville returns to play this Friday evening as it plays host to Lindbergh in a Suburban West Conference game and its final home game of the 2003-2004 season.

The Lindbergh contest is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start.