It was an up and down week for Jackson County’s Lady Panthers, as they split region games with Archer and Oconee County.
Next up is a big region pairing for the Lady Panthers, as they will travel to Hartwell to face Hart County. The Lady Bulldogs enter the week 3-2 in the region and 8-7 overall. Hart County won the last two meetings of the two teams, back in February and January of 2009.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Archer
Looking to rebound from a region loss to Elbert County the week before, the Lady Panthers played host last Tuesday to the Lady Tigers of Archer looking to get back in the win column.
Both teams seemed pretty equally matched through the first half, with the Lady Panthers edging out a 24-22 advantage at the half.
But in the third quarter, Jackson County slammed the door on Archer. The Lady Panthers’ defense came to life, holding the Lady Tigers to just five points while they added 25 to their total to make it 49-27 by the end of the quarter. The Lady Panthers would go on to win handily, 61-38.
Ashley Skelton led in scoring on the night with 24 points, six steals and seven rebounds. Victoria Fontana scored 15 points.
“I was real proud of the effort,” said coach Chad Pittman. “It might have been one of the better nights we’ve had. I gave a few people a chance to show me what they have.”
Pittman pointed out a couple of those that stepped up in the game.
“Freshman Savannah Roncadori played really well,” he said. “She played the back of our press. She had six steals and ended the game with eight points. I was really proud of her. Victoria Fontana continued to play well for us. She hit three threes and scored 15 points. She played real well defensively with five steals.
“I was really proud to get a lot of production out of those two spots.”
Oconee County
The Lady Panthers were hoping to build some region momentum when they hosted the Lady Warriors of Oconee County.
Jackson County showed great intensity in the first half of the game, holding a 26-20 lead going into the half.
“We played really, really well in the first half,” Pittman said. “Everybody had played real well. Bree (Drew) had 11 points in the first half with three threes. As a team, we hit six threes in the first half.”
But in the second half, things didn’t go as well. The Lady Panthers were one for their first nine. Oconee County took advantage, and took a 36-31 lead by the end of the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the Lady Warriors held Jackson County to six points while they added 10 to their total. In the end, Oconee County came away with a 46-37 victory.
Bree Drew led in scoring with 14 points. Ashley Skelton scored 10.
For more on this story, see Wednesday's edition of The Jackson Herald.
