It was a hard week for the Lady Panthers of Jackson County, as they dropped two region contests to Franklin County and Stephens County last week.
The Lady Panthers are hoping to get back on track in the last four games of region play. On Friday, they will travel to Oconee County to face the Lady Warriors.
Oconee County came away the victor in their last pairing, 46-37, back on Jan. 15.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Franklin Co.
The week got started on a rough note for the Lady Panthers, as they played host to the Lady Lions of Franklin County last Tuesday.
Things did not go well at the start, as Jackson County found themselves trailing 27-12 at the half.
Things went better in the third quarter, as the Lady Panthers were able to close to within 12 points of Franklin County, 39-27, by the end of the quarter. Jackson County appeared to be on a roll early in the fourth quarter as they pulled to within three, 39-30, early on.
But missed opportunities by Jackson County and successful foul shots by Franklin gave the Lady Lions the edge they needed as they went on to win 54-34.
Victoria Fontana led in scoring with 14 points on the night.
Coach Chad Pittman said that the loss to Franklin County was similar to the previous week’s loss to Hart County.
“It seems to be a recurring theme of our rebounding being a problem,” he said. “Our defense was pretty good, but we just couldn’t convert around the basket and gave them too many second chance opportunities. That was, really to me, the biggest difference of the game.
“It’s hard to beat a team when you give them too many second chances.”
Pittman said the defensive effort by his team was pretty good.
“Nobody for them really killed us. But for me the difference was, just as with Hart County, that we lost the battle on the boards and then we didn’t convert on some opportunities for us around the basket offensively.”
Stephens County
Up next was another home stand on Friday night, as Jackson County played host to the Lady Indians of Stephens County.
Despite trailing early, the Lady Panthers worked hard to stay within shouting distance of the Lady Indians, who held an 11-8 advantage at the end of the first quarter. While both teams seemed pretty evenly matched in the second quarter, Stephens County was able to increase their lead slightly as they carried a 24-20 lead into the half.
The second half proved to be the turning point, as the Lady Indians pulled out their advantage over the Lady Panthers down the stretch. In the end, Stephens County came away with a 49-38 victory.
Bree Drew led Jackson County in scoring with 13 points. Victoria Fontana scored nine.
For more on this story, see Wednesday's edition of The Jackson Herald or The Braselton News.
