The Panthers kept their season alive, defeating the Huntingdon Lady Hawks, 64-57 in Mariotti Gymnasium on Tuesday evening. The Panthers improve to 15-11 on the year, while the Lady Hawks end thier season with an 8-18 record.
The first half was slow for the Panthers, as the Lady Hawks opened the game with an 8-2 lead as Panthers head coach Kelly Britsky called timeout with 16:46 remaining in the half.
The Panthers’ woes continued as Huntingdon continued to take advantage of getting offensive rebounds and put backs as Britsky called a full timeout to talk things over down 10, 16-6 at the 12:13 mark.
The Panthers finally got in gear and with intense defensive play of freshman Ashley DeFreitas got the Panthers back in the game, going on a 12-0 run to take their first lead of the game, 18-16 on a Kellee Scandrett three-pointer with 6:37 to go. DeFreitas would have four points, three rebounds and two steals in nine minutes of action in the first half.
The Hawks would get their offense clicking once again and would outscore the Panthers 11-6 in the final six minutes to give the Lady Hawks a three-point advantage, 27-24 at intermission.
The Panthers forced 21 first half turnovers but allowed them to shoot 42 percent from the floor. The Panthers shot a mere 21 percent from the field in the first half. They were led by seniors LaTessa Taylor and Lindsey Moore, who combined for 15 points and six rebounds.
In the second half, the Panthers would regain the lead on another Scandrett three-pointer to put them up 29-27 en route to a 7-0 run and would not surrender the lead for the rest of the game.
The Panthers would lead by as much as 10 points on three occasions with the first coming off a made free throw by Taylor to give them a 47-37 lead with 8:40 to go. Taylor would finish the game with a 17-point, 13-rebound performance in 33 minutes of play.
The seniors, who were facing possibly their final game, together had a great performance. In addition to Taylor’s performance, was led by fellow senior Lindsey Moore, who ended up with a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds, including 4-of-4 from the free throw line. Scandrett tossed in 13 points.
Defreitas would have the best overall game of her career, finished with six points, a career-high 12 rebounds, including the final two offensive boards to end the game. She also had three assists and three steals.
The Panthers will advance to the Semifinals of the GSAC Tournament, which they will have the advantage of hosting. They will square off against #1 seed Piedmont College with tip-off scheduled for 5:30 p.m.