AMERICUS —
The Americus-Sumter Lady Panthers are hitting their stride going into to pivotal Region 1-AAAA contests this week. Americus-Sumter defeated Albany High on Tuesday and Crisp County on Friday before taking down Terrell County on Saturday night to stretch their winning streak to four games as they prepare for the very talented Dougherty County Lady Trojans at home tonight and the Monroe Lady Tornados in Albany on Friday.
The big weekend for the Lady Panthers started with a convincing win over a tough Crisp County team in a region match-up. Despite falling behind 8-6 in the first period, Americus-Sumter battled back in the second period to claim the quarter 9-5 and take a 15-13 lead into the locker room at halftime.
The third period would be the deciding frame of the game as the Lady Panthers came out of the locker room firing on all cylinders to claim a 34-20 lead going into the final period. Despite being outscored 12-10 in the final frame, Americus-Sumter had done plenty in the third quarter to hold off the Lady Cougars comeback. When all was said and done, Americus-Sumter claimed an impressive 44-32 victory to move to 3-0 in their last three games.
Kayla Bowens had a huge game in the victory with a team-leading 21 points to go along with five steals and three assists. Tanyette Hill added one of her best games of the year and a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds to help the Lady Panthers take the win.
Following their huge home win the Lady Panthers hit the road to travel to Terrell County, but their intensity and drive did not skip a beat. In the first period of their match-up with Lady Greenwaves, Americus-Sumter scored an astonishing 25 points while holding Terrell County to only seven to claim an early 18 point lead. According to Americus-Sumter head coach Evelyn Wright, the first period could not have gone any better after a hard-fought home win the night before. “That first period was textbook,” Wright said. “Nobody could miss and everything we were doing was right.”
After the strong start the Lady Panthers went on cruise control. Americus-Sumter took a 28-17 lead into the halftime break and dominated the final two periods 14-8 and 17-1 to cruise to a 59-26 victory.
Hill had another huge night with 17 points and 12 rebounds to claim another double-double and lead the Lady Panthers to victory. Khaler Fletcher also had a big night with 16 points and two assists, and Bowens added 13 points, three rebounds, four assists and four steals in the win. Diamond Denmark had two points, but pulled down six rebounds and dished out six assists.
“I tell the girls ‘we haven’t lost a game this year (in 2013)’,” said Wright. “We are going to have to come to play if we want to keep our streak alive because our region is very tough.”
The Lady Panthers will take on the Lady Trojans of Dougherty tonight at 6 p.m. in the Panther Den before traveling to Albany to battle the Lady Tornados of Monroe on Friday night at 6 p.m.
Local Sports
Lady Panthers on a roll going into crucial contests
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