The Knoxville Girls Basketball Squad took to the court for the first time in a preseason game Thursday night against Ottumwa. While the score was disappointing for the Panthers, a 61-55 loss to the Bulldogs, the main reason for the game was to help their school mates by filling the shelves of the Panther Food Pantry at Knoxville High School. The Pride Game is an opportunity for both teams to give back to their respective communities and the Panthers choose to help out their closest friends at the school. Junior player Tara Uitermarkt tells KRLS Sports while playing the game was good, it was even better to collect food for those less fortunate. Knoxville will get the season started for real on Tuesday with a home match up with PCM.