Lady Bears drop matchup with Lady Panthers, No. 4 Panthers escape Bears’ upset bid 56-54
HOMERVILLE — Clinch County proved to be a rude host here Monday night taking down visiting Pierce County twice in a non-region twinbill.
The original matchup was postponed until January 26. The home-and-home series finale was played Tuesday, February 3.
The Lady Panthers (7-9), who entered having dropped nine of 10 games after a 5-0 start, turned back the Lady Bears (413), who entered having lost eight of their past 10 games, 42-24.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution fourth-ranked Panthers (15-2) extended their winning streak to five with victories in eight of their last, with a spine-tingling 56-54 victory over the Bears (5-12), who entered having lost eight of 10.
Clinch County ...........................42 Lady Bears ................................24 D’Marreya Magby nearly matched the Lady Bears’ point total scoring a gamehigh 20 points to lead Clinch County to the win.
The Lady Panthers outscored PCHS 118 in the opening stanza. Clinch County widened its margin by intermission outpointing the Lady Bears 11-4 in claiming a 22-12 lead at intermission.
A 14-5 scoring advantage in the third period pushed the Lady Panthers’ margin to a comfortable 36-17 lead. Pierce County clipped one point off the margin over the final eight minutes outscoring the Lady Panthers 7-6.
Isabella Marx and Claire Murray each scored 10 points to lead PCHS. Keirsten Jones chipped two points with Saharah Minott and Ansley Hutcheson netting a free throw apiece.
No. 4 Clinch County...................56 Bears.........................................54 A turnover on Pierce County’s final possession to tie the game foiled an upset bid against the Panthers.
The Bears outscored Clinch County 30-20 over the second and fourth quarters. The Panthers had a 36-24 scoring advantage in the first and third periods.
The home team raced out to a seven-point lead by the end of the first canto at 13-6. PCHS responded in the second stanza using a 15-9 scoring advantage to climb to within 22-21 at halftime.
Clinch County surpassed its firsthalf total during the third period outscoring the Bears 23-18 to extend its lead to 45-39. Pierce County whittled away at the deficit finishing the final period with a 1511 scoring advantage.
Jamil Strickland (trey) and De-Montre Clark (career-high) led PCHS with 17-point and 16-point nights respectively. Chezz Armstrong (two treys) finished with eight points.
Jikeyse McGauley (trey), Nigel Brown and D.J. Moody each bagged four points. Shavez Warren connected on a free throw.
The Panthers were led by the game-high 22 points of Jabri Posley (two treys). Travian Miller was next with 15 points.
