Lenoir City’s Panthers traveled to William Blount Friday night and defeated former
Panthers coach Kevin Windle’s Governors on their home court 74-66. The game was
much closer than their first meeting. The Panthers won at home 68-45 on Jan. 6.
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| Photo by Ambler Brown © 2012 Haley Morris drives into the lane to put up a shot in the Lady Panthers game at Wm. Blount. Friday. |
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| Photo by Ambler Brown © 2012 Cailin Hurley clears out from the baseline after snagging a rebound. |
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| Photo by Ambler Brown © 2012 Camion Patrick goes in for a layup in the Panthers 74-66 win at Wm. Blount Friday. Click to view and purchase these and other photographs from the game. |
The Lady Panthers, 10-14 (5-9), were in it for a while, but
dropped their game 51-34. The score after the first period was a respectable
17-14 but the Lady Govs defense stiffened, holding Lenoir City to single digit
quarters the rest of the night. At the break the home team’s advantage had
grown to 31-13.
The score sheet looked more like a recent economic indicator
with scores dropping more each period. The Lady Govs doubled Lenoir City’s 7-point
third period offense and cut it to only three points in the fourth.
Tyler Powers scored 10 to lead the Lady Panthers. Katie
Smartt hit for eight. Chassady Gray and Kara Steil each dropped five through
the hoop, while the trio of Kelsey Marriott, Lindsey Jones and Ally Latham each
scored two. Long-range baskets were made by Gray and Smartt, with one each and
Powers netted two. The Lady Panthers hit eight of 14 from the charity stripe
for 57 percent.
“This did not help us in the district standings,” Lady
Panthers coach Kelly Herron said about the loss. “I did not want to be a
seventh seed in the tournament.”
The Panthers were hot out of the gate with 21-first quarter
points to 13 for the Govs. The gap closed tighter in the second period with a
44-32 half-time score. Both defenses tightened in the second half, as Lenoir
City only put 15 points in during both final periods.
With a couple of threes and made free throws, William Blount
rallied to within one for a 59-58 score at 5:15 to go in the game but the
Panthers kept finding a way to pull away down the stretch. Terrance Hall was
six-for-six from the charity stripe for the Panthers, all in the fourth
period. Collectively Lenoir City hit 78.3 percent from the free-throw line.
Three Panthers scored in double figures, led by Tyler Jones
with 14. Jordan Hall netted 13 and Alex Hatfield dropped in 12. Terrance Hall
and Camion Patrick each found the nylon for eight points and Lucas Hamilton
ripped it with seven. Bill Ault scored five, Nathan Lester four and Steven Halcomb
dropped in three, for a total of nine players inking the score sheet. Jordan
Hall and Tyler Jones each hit a pair from beyond the arc.
Lenoir City 14-10 (8-6) plays Kingston Monday for their
final home game of the season. It will be senior night for the Panthers and
Lady Panthers as players from both teams will receive special recognition for
their efforts on the hardwood.
Lady Panthers making their final appearance are Kristi
Brackett, Abbie Cheatham, Chassady Gray, Kelsey Marriott, Tyler Powers, Dawn
Radford, Taylor Robinson and team manager Kayla Honore. Panthers seniors are Bill Ault, Alex Hatfield,
Tyler Jones and Nathan Lester.
Lenoir City will travel to Loudon Friday for a 6 p.m.
tipoff. The District 4-AAA tournament will take place Feb. 15-22 at Bearden
High School in Knoxville.
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