It wasn’t much of a challenge Saturday night for the Lady Leopards as Banks County crushed the Lady Patriots of Oglethorpe, 53-17.
Starting off with a commanding 13-2 lead, Banks County added another 11 points before the half to set the tone for the rest of the game. Coming out after the break, Banks County had seven scorers in the third period adding 17 points and holding Oglethorpe to under five points.
The final eight minutes gave the Lady Leopards the opportunity to add another 12 points, outscoring the Lady Patriots 12-6 and securing the 53-17 final.
Taylor Kennedy led the offense scoring 10 points and hitting 3-6 from the free-throw line. Following Kennedy, Terri Cregar put up eight points, while Savannah Blalock scored seven. Deasha Beasley and Madison Franklin added six points apiece followed by Morgan Cox, Kellany Merck and Katlin Parks with three points each. Sarah O’Kelley, Laura Rose Pickens and McKenna Rylee each added a bucket for two points and Casey Turner went to the free-throw line to add one point.
With the win over Oglethorpe County, Banks County improved to 9-13 overall and sits 1-6 in region play entering into the final three games of the regular season.
Tuesday night, Feb. 1, the Lady Leopards hosted East Hall in the final home game of the regular season. Final results were unavailable at press time.
Leading into this week’s game, East Hall, 2-2; 10-7, was sitting in the fourth seed of the sub-region. With only two games left before the region tournament, Fannin County looks to have a lock on the sub-region title with a 6-1; 18-1 record. Banks County, the fifth seed as of Monday, still has a Union County and Dawson County game ahead in the season.
This Friday, the Lady Leopards take on Union County, looking to make up for the 52-37 loss from last month. Union County, 3-2; 10-8, hosts Banks County at 7 p.m.
The final game of the regular season will also be a road trip for Banks County, as the girls head to Dawsonville looking to rough up the Lady Tigers in a repeat of last Tuesday’s, Jan. 25, 63-55 game. The Lady Leopards will tip-off against the Lady Tigers at 7 p.m. on Feb. 11.
With the pressure of the final games on, the Lady Leopards are set on heading into the region tournament and making a play to advance, hopefully into a slot for state.
Banks County lost a sub-region game last week on Friday to the current number two Rabun County, 67-34.
With the team’s only real scoring happening in the second and third periods leading scorers Franklin and Kennedy led with 12 points apiece. Cregar added five points followed by Brandy Daniel and Turner with two points each. Beasley added one.
