STOCKBRIDGE —
As the Americus-Sumter Lady Panthers boarded the bus bound for Woodland High School, they knew nothing about their journey would come easy. For the Region 1-AAAA three-seeded Lady Panthers, an extremely tough test awaited them at their destination. Americus-Sumter was set to take on a Woodland Lady Wolfpack team that amassed a 24-2 record this season while coming up just short in the Region 4-AAAA Championship to earn a first round date with the Lady Panthers in Stockbridge on Tuesday night.
The Lady Panthers, who entered the match-up sporting an impressive 17-8 overall record this season, knew that it would take their best effort of the season to knock off a powerful Woodland team. Americus-Sumter was up for the challenge in the first period as they battled back-and-fourth with the Lady Wolfpack to exit the first quarter trailing by only one point, 15-14.
Although the Lady Panthers did not know it at the time, the second quarter would make all the difference in the outcome of the game, which was not good news for Americus-Sumter. The Lady Wolfpack of Woodland would find their stride on the offensive side of the ball en route to a 23-10 second quarter run and a 38-24 halftime lead.
The Lady Panthers would make a big run of their own in the third period as they stormed to a 23-15 third quarter score and narrowed the Woodland lead to only 53-47 as the teams headed for the final period.
At times it appeared that the Lady Panthers would pull out the victory against the powerful Lady Wolfpack, but every time Americus-Sumter would sink a basket Woodland would answer with a bucket of their own. The Lady Panthers offense would once again fire on all cylinders in the final quarter, but the Woodland offense would also be prolific in the fourth as the teams traded scores to a 20-20 fourth quarter tie, giving the Lady Wolfpack a narrow 73-67 first round victory.
The tough loss ended a great season for head coach Evelyn Wright and her 2012-13 Lady Panther squad. Not only will the loss end the season for the Lady Panthers team, it will also end the high school careers of five of Americus-Sumter’s most productive players. Kayla Bowens finished her career with a 22 point night in the loss, followed by fellow seniors Kahler Fletcher with 19, A’Dasjah Mercer with seven and Tanyetta Hill with two. Diamond Denmark also ended her Lady Panther career with one rebound. Mercer narrowly missed a double-double with nine rebounds and Fletcher and Hill added seven rebounds and five rebounds, respectively. Sophomore De’Kayla Blackshear was the only underclassman in double-digits after scoring 13 points in the loss.
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Kayla Bowens (1) takes a shot earlier this season. Bowens ended her career as a Lady Panther with a team-high 22 points in Tuesday’s 73-67 playoff loss to Woodland. Scott Phillips
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