It was a tough week for the Lady Panthers of Jackson County, as they dropped region games to Franklin County and Oconee County, dropping them to 0-6 in the region as they continue to search for their first region victory of the year.
That first win could come Friday night, as the Lady Panthers travel to Eastside to face the Lady Eagles in Covington.
The Lady Eagles entered play on Tuesday with a 2-4 region record, and an 8-8 overall record. Eastside has been the winner the last two times the two teams have met, in December of 2004 and again in December of 2005.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
If Tuesday’s game against Franklin County had been only 12 minutes long, it may well have had a good outcome for the Lady Panthers. Out of the box, Jackson County was doing well, taking an 8-6 lead by the end of the first quarter. They continued on that path into the second quarter.
But with about three minutes left in the first half, the wheels came off for the Lady Panthers.
The Lady Rebels went on a sudden tear scoring 18 points in the last minutes of the second quarter to go up 28-13 at the half.
Things fared no better for the Lady Panthers, as Fannin County went on to win 65-22.
“We just didn’t play well,” said coach Chad Pittman. “We didn’t play well, we didn’t coach well, we didn’t do anything well for the last 21 minutes of the game. It’s hard to learn from those experiences. You just get on the bus, have a long ride back home, try to forget them and move forward.
“It was a long game.”
Up next was a home stand against Oconee County, a team that measures up well to Jackson County.
Oconee County came out strong, taking a 13-6 lead at the end of the first quarter. But the Lady Panthers started fighting back, and closed the lead down to two points, 26-24, at the half.
Both teams continued to fight hard in the third quarter, and found themselves tied 35-35 at the end of the quarter. As the teams continued to match each other, the Lady Panthers tied the score 47-47 with about 27 seconds left.
But with three seconds remaining, an eight-foot jump shot by Oconee County gave them the lead and the 48-47 victory.
Breanna Drew led the Lady Panthers in scoring with 15 points, while Ana Rodriguez scored 14 points, including four three point shots, and Ashley Skelton scored 13.
For more on this story, see Wednesday's edition of The Jackson Herald or The Braselton News.
