COLUMBUS — The name of the game was defense, and West Lowndes was dominant on the defensive front on Tuesday night.
Opening up district play against Houlka, the Panthers were looking to make a statement as the girls team came into the game with a 3-14 record.
Nothing had seemingly gone right for West Lowndes, but that all changed on Tuesday. Defensive stops turned into fast break opportunities and where the Panthers excelled, the Wildcats couldn’t keep up.
It was the perfect recipe for success and led to a convincing 61-40 win for a 1-0 start in region play.
“We know that the best offense is a great defense,” head coach Shaquinta Robinson said. “In order for us to score points, we’re going to have to put full-court pressure on these teams, especially in our district. … We can press just about anybody going forward. We just have to be a lot smarter with it.”
Things started out red hot for the Panthers (4-14, 1-0 1A Region 4), taking an eight-point lead into the second quarter with much of their points coming off steals and fast-breaks down the floor.
The second quarter was much sloppier overall, but a double-digit lead going into the half was enough motivation to keep the train moving in the second half, and like clockwork, the Panthers got going and never looked back.
“Defensive-wise, the engine was there tonight and we stepped up our game,” senior Kerrigan Clark said. “… This game tonight was big for us and I’m happy we got our first district win.”
Clark was on the receiving end of a lot of full-court passes from teammates as the guard finished the night with a game-high 18 points, scoring six of them the hard way as she shot 75 percent (6-of-8) from the foul line.
That defensive aggression led to a lot of physicality down low for West Lowndes, taking 28 total free throws in the game, with 19 coming in the second half alone.
Despite shooting 18-of-28 from the line, the sheer volume of foul shooting proved to be too much for Houlka to stop.
“We definitely improved from last game,” Clark said. “… I was just trying to make layups, make shots so we can win.”
Winning ways have finally hit West Lowndes, who is now 3-1 in its last four games.
It’s a far cry from a 13-game losing streak that the Panthers endured after winning their season opener, but this stretch proves to be crucial with only a handful of district games left before the postseason.
“We just got some girls back and it’s really helped us as far as our full-court press in practice,” Robinson said. “Getting those older girls back is really helping us from a physicality standpoint.”
West Lowndes boys 68, Houlka 35
If you took Tuesday night’s boys and girls games and put them side-by-side, you might not be able to tell the difference between the two.
From one defensive masterclass to another, West Lowndes took the floor against Houlka looking for an emphatic start to district play, and it got just that.
The Panthers took a 22-point lead into the half, stretching it out to as many as 36 points as they dominated the Wildcats, 68-35.
“They beat us last year in double-overtime for the district championship by one point,” head coach Michael Huffman said. “That was a tough ride going back. Our kids knew about that and we knew that we had to get out there and hustle.”
West Lowndes (13-9, 1-0 in 1A Region 4) didn’t just hustle, it took control from the start and did not let up at any point, even getting a bit complacent when not continuing to build the lead in the first half.
Defense played a massive role in this revenge blowout victory over the Wildcats, but the offense shined the most as 10 players got on the score sheet, led by a 15-point night from senior Cameron Smith.
Free throws, which have been the bane of the Panthers’ existence this season, proved to be a non-factor on Tuesday, but offensively, everything was clicking for the ideal start to district play.
“For some reason, we don’t play well at home, so I told them to block out the noise and just go out there and play, play for your teammates,” Huffman said. “… I’ve got 12-to-13 kids that can play. Some nights, it’s one kid’s night and some nights, it’s another kid, but we have to work as a team, and we did that tonight. Everyone was cheering for each other.”
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