Panthers win big over Whippets
Published 5:15 pm Wednesday, January 21, 2009
The Georgiana boys solidified their first-place standing in the region with a 72-42 win over Frisco City Tuesday night.
Frisco put up a fight for the first quarter, and Georgiana’s lead was 18-12 heading in to the second quarter, but the Panthers proved to be too much for the Whippets.
Georgiana’s defense locked down and held the Whippets to only four points in the second quarter, while the Panthers put another 18 on the board.
From there, Georgiana put things on cruise control.
One thing that stood out to head coach Kirk Norris was the amount of production he got from every member of the team.
Every player scored, but LaCory Savage was the only player in double digits with 13 points.
Victor Marshall also had nine.
“It was really a team effort,” Norris said. “We didn’t have to rely on one person, and that feels good.”
Norris said the Panthers have consistently been playing nine or 10 players, and that depth has helped the team.
“Our bench really helped us tonight,” he said.
However, Norris said the team has to maintain its intensity through the whole game.
“Our goal is to play for four quarters — we don’t want to plateau. We’ve got to be consistently excited,” he said.
The Georgiana girls also picked up a win and moved into second place behind J.F. Shields.
The Lady Panthers held a 20-9 lead at halftime, but the Whippets made a run in the third and fourth quarters.
However, the Panthers held on for a 39-24 win.
Head coach John Cheatham said even though it was a win, there is still room for improvement.
“We’re still struggling on offense,” he said. “We should have executed better. We have to continue to work.”
One recent focus for the girls has been playing more cohesively as a team, and Cheatham said he’s starting to see that.
“We played a little more together. It was more of a team game, and we haven’t been doing that,” Cheatham said.
Kannesha Nept and Sharran Matthews each scored 15 points for the Lady Panthers.