It was another solid week for the Lady Panthers of Jackson County, as they split their last two games with a win over Johnson and a loss to Stephens County
Next up for the Lady Panthers is a home stand against Oconee County in region action.
Going into action on Tuesday, neither team had recorded a region win so far in the season. The Lady Panthers have a statistical advantage over the Lady Warriors, having scored 382 points to Oconee’s 290, and having allowed only 303 points to their 408.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Jackson County started off last week on a high note, as they played host to Johnson at the pit. After getting off to a slow start, the Lady Panthers found themselves up by two at the half, 17-15.
Jackson County had been sluggish in the first quarter, going 1-11, but then made 50 percent of their shots, 16-32, for the remainder of the game.
“When you shoot the ball that well, lots of times good things happen,” said coach Chad Pittman.
Good things did happen for Jackson County, as they pulled out to lead the game in the second half, coming away with a 48-31 victory.
Ashley Skelton led the Lady Panthers in scoring with 15 points, while several other players scored on the night as well.
“Everybody played well, and I thought everybody played hard,” Pittman said. “We did a good job rebounding and handling the basketball. We didn’t turn it over too many times. We did a good job defensively as a whole as well. Overall I felt like it was a good effort.”
Next up for Jackson County was a trip to Stephens County, where they faced the Lady Indians who were undefeated in the region.
Things didn’t go as well on this night, as the Lady Panthers found themselves down 34-17 at the half. The game didn’t get much better for Jackson County in the second half, as Stephens County moved out to a 65-43 victory.
“A lot of times, this stuff is about match ups,” Pittman said. “Stephens has got two of the quickest guards in our region. They definitely caused some problems for us starting out the game.
“We had too many turnovers, and they have a couple of kids that are really strong around the basket. We did not do a good job boxing out and so forth.”
Katie Rodriguez led in scoring for Jackson County with 19 points, along with a personal best five three-pointers. Ashley Skelton had 13 points, and Jessica Stevens turned in another solid performance with nine points scored, four blocked shots and nine rebounds.
“(Stevens) continues to do well,” Pittman said. “That’s one thing we don’t have to worry about. We know she’s going to play hard and contribute.”
For more on this story, see Wednesday's edition of The Jackson Herald or The Braselton News.
