The Lady Panthers competed in the Region 3ADII tournament against Bryan County at Jenkins County High School on Thursday.
A second half to remember doomed the Panthers' chances at making the region championship. The Panthers were outscored 28-15 in the second half on their way to a 44-24 loss.
After defeating Claxton in the play-in, the Panthers faced off with a foe that they hadn't quite figured out this season. Bryan County swept Portal in the regular season series and the story did not change on Thursday.
Head Coach Nicole Newton spoke on what happened after the halftime break. "In the second half, we stopped scoring while giving up points on the defensive end," Newton said. "That's when they started to pull away."
The game on Thursday was just a very tough game for the Lady Panthers. Offensively they struggled to get anything going on. "We just realized that were not playing our brand of basketball," Newton said. "The coaching staff stressed that we need to get back to that."
The Lady Panthers scored 24 points in Thursday's game. The team averaged 41.5 during the regular season.
Despite not making the region championship, the Lady Panthers will be back in the state tournament. Last season, the girls advanced to the 2nd round of the state playoffs.
"We will definitely make some adjustments after we find out who our 1st round opponent will be," Newton said. "We will break down film and have a game plan in place."
Up Next:
The Panthers' next game will be in the first round of the state tournament against the Wilcox County Patriots in Rochelle on Tuesday, February 18. The game will tip off at 6pm. Tickets are available on GoFan.
