For the past few weeks, the Lady Panthers of Jackson County have been looking to swing momentum back in their favor.
After three losses in a row, Jackson County was hoping a Dec. 19 win over West Hall might be the turning point to get the team back on track.
That proved to be the case, as the Lady Panthers went undefeated in last weekend’s Jingle Jam to win their home tournament, and improve to 8-3 overall.
The wins couldn’t have come at a better time, as the Lady Panthers prepare to enter the heart of their region schedule on Friday traveling to Stephens County to face the Lady Indians.
Stephens County enters Friday’s contest undefeated in three region games this season, and also has an 8-3 overall record.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
The JCCHS girls hit the court on day one of the Jingle Jam, held Dec. 29 hoping to keep the momentum from their Dec. 19 win over West Hall going.
It certainly seemed to carry over, as the Lady Panthers took control early, pulling out to a 13-0 lead by the end of the first quarter. As Jackson County continued to pull away, most members of the team were able to get time on the court. By the time the final buzzer sounded, the Lady Panthers had a resounding 62-41 victory to log in the win column.
Several players scored between seven and nine points. Jessica Stevens scored nine points and had nine rebounds.
“I thought she played a pretty complete game,” said coach Chad Pittman.
Pittman said he felt the team’s defense did a good job against Hebron.
“We caused them to turn the ball over several times,” he said. “We were able to score some in transition early on, which was productive. It got us off to a good start.”
One player who didn’t hit the court that night was Breanna Drew, who was still recovering from an ankle injury.
Drew did return to the court the next day, as the Lady Panthers faced off against Providence Christian in the championship game.
Things didn’t look as positive after the first quarter, when Jackson County found themselves trailing 16-11. But the team came out swinging in the second quarter, holding the Lady Stats scoreless as they put 19 points on the board to move ahead 30-16 at the half.
“That might be one of the best quarters we’ve had all year,” Pittman said.
From there on, the Lady Panthers stayed in control of the game, and came away with a 52-29 victory, and the tournament title.
Ashley Skelton led in scoring with 19 points, three steals and three assists. In her first game back, Drew had a double/double, scoring 17 points and getting 13 rebounds. She also went 9-10 from the free throw line.
For more on this story, see Wednesday's edition of The Jackson Herald or The Braselton News.
