Banks County’s Lady Leopards went 2-1 last week to move to 8-11 overall as the season approaches the final weeks.
The Lady Leopards fell to Jefferson last Tuesday, but rebounded to take a cross-region win over Dawson County and picked up a win over Jackson County the next night.
This week, Banks faces sub-region opponent East Jackson and cross-region challenger Fannin County.
The ladies traveled down the road Tuesday night to face East Jackson. Scores were unavailable at press time from Tuesday’s game.
Friday night Banks hosts Fannin at 7 p.m.
The Fannin County contest is also Shawn Smith and Rec night at Banks County with a ceremony in memory of Smith during halftime of the Lady Leopards game. Rec department basketball players that wear his or her jersey get in free as well as coaches for those teams.
Fannin County is 10-7 overall this season and has defeated several schools that previously defeated Banks. However, the Lady Leopards are showing promise late in the season.
“The team seems to be coming together for the tournament and realizing that if they play together they can win,” said coach Jerry King.
The ladies showed what teamwork accomplishes last week during the Dawson County and Jackson County games after the loss to Jefferson on Tuesday.
The Lady Leopards fought a hard game against Jefferson, but an early lead gave Jefferson the boost to take the 51-39 win.
In the first period, Jefferson made a strong showing outscoring Banks 19-6. The Lady Leopards cut the lead in the second period picking up 16 points to Jefferson’s 11 points. Entering into the third period, 30-22, Banks still had a chance to win. Jefferson scored 10 in the third period to outscore the Lady Leopards. In the final eight minutes, both teams scored 11 points.
Banks County had a decent showing off the line, shooting 12 of 18. According to King, the trouble stemmed from the ladies giving up too many second chance shots.
“The team gave them too many second chance shots, and missed easy baskets we needed to hit,” King said. King and his staff made those two items top priorities during practice.
Lauren Kennedy led Banks County with 18 points, followed by Lacey Saxon with seven. Deasha Beasley and Katlyn Parks each scored four while Erika Evans, Ashley Morris and Madison Franklin added two apiece.
Heading to Dawson on Friday, Banks hit its highest offensive night of the season. The Lady Leopards took a 52-45 win over the cross-region Dawson County. During the first half, Banks’ defense held Dawson County to 17-points. The Lady Leopards picked up 27 to end the half with a 10-point advantage. Dawson stepped up in the second half, but despite collecting several offensive rebounds, could not overtake the Lady Leopards. Banks took the win after outscoring Dawson in the final period 14-13.
Banks shot 23 of 37 from the line and even with a weaker defense posture during the second half, the ladies took a sought after win.
L. Kennedy led with 12, just ahead of Saxon with 11. Evans and Beasley each picked up seven points while Franklin and Samm Kennedy added four apiece. Parks scored three and Jessica Grisham added two points.
In a match-up that has been the bane of the ladies this season, Banks County once again faced Jackson County.
Unlike this season’s first game between the schools, where Jackson County went 28 points over Banks, the Lady Leopards put the Lady Panthers in their place, 43-35.
“[We] took advantage of their defensive lapses and played good defense in the zone,” said King.
At the end of the half, Jackson County was up 22-18. Banks responded in the third period to outscore the Lady Panthers 13-5 and take the lead, 31-27. In the final period, the Lady Leopards picked up 12 and held Jackson County to eight.
The big win for the team is what is needed as the season nears the end.
L. Kennedy picked up 14 points to lead the team. Saxon was good for 11. Parks scored six followed by Evans with four and Franklin with three. S. Kennedy and Beasley added two apiece, while Laura Rose Pickens knocked in one point.
