Fillies overwhelm Lon Morris, 85-47
ET basketball
Longview News Journal
Sunday, February 11, 2007
CARTHAGE — The 90-60 Panola women's basketball team's win over Jacksonville on Wednesday was an impressive display of defense, 3-point shooting and all-around dominance by the Fillies. But the 30-point blowout of the Lady Jaguars was just a preview of what came on Saturday at Panola's homecoming, when the Fillies assembled what is probably their best performance of the season to date.
Explosive bench play and overwhelming athleticism propelled Panola to a resounding 85-47 victory over an overmatched Lon Morris squad at Arthur M. Johnson Gymnasium. The 38-point victory avenged a 97-95 loss to Lon Morris on Dec. 6.
Panola's (18-7, 10-3) bench scored 54 points in the rout, as Karee Houlette and Tiffanie Johnson were the Fillies' top two scorers. Houlette, who has been a key contributor off the bench lately, led Panola with 15 points on 6-for-11 shooting, including an individual nine-point spurt following a Beata Widding layup that put the Fillies up 56-25 just over three minutes into the second half.
"We're blessed with depth. We've got a lot of kids who sometimes sit quite a bit that at any other location might be playing more," said Panola coach Tracey Stellato. "I like the fact that we're not predictable. We'll look at our statistics and they're not gaudy, but we have kids who do have the potential to step up any given night. That's nice for a coach to be able to take one out and put another one in and not have any kind of dropoff."
Houlette was 2-for-5 from 3-point range, while Johnson added 3-for-5 long-range shooting and 4-for-4 free-throw shooting to score 13. After not making a field goal in the first half, Widding - true to form - did most of her damage in the second half, finishing with 12 points (4-for-10) and a game-high nine rebounds from the point guard spot.
When Widding was on the bench, Panola inserted JaMoya Guy, who dropped in 10 points while hitting 6 of 8 free throws. Satara Harrell added eight points (3-for-7) and three steals, while bench players Vedrana Milakovic, Casie Adams and Jasmine Brown combined for 16 points (7-for-12) and 12 rebounds. Starter Dominique Sims had four points (2-for-7), five rebounds and a team-high three assists.
Kendrea Walker was the only double-figure scorer for Lon Morris (11-12, 3-9) with a game-high 24 points (8-for-22) and eight rebounds. Walker hit all eight of her free throws, but shot just 2-for-11 from the field in the second half.
Leading 17-11 halfway through the first half, Panola staged a 21-3 run to take a 38-14 lead and total control of the game. The Fillies led 45-25 at halftime, and gained their largest lead of 40 points with 7.7 seconds left in the contest.
Men
Lon Morris 87, Panola 79
Panola was within striking distance throughout the second half of Saturday's game against Lon Morris, but each time the Ponies made a run, the Bearcats answered.
Lon Morris hit 6 of 11 second-half 3-pointers, spurning Panola's comeback attempts. Troy Mathis was 7-for-11 from the field and 5-for-9 from long range, finishing with a game-high 22 points. Mathis shot 3-for-5 from beyond the arc in the second half.
Michael Hall added 17 points (7-for-9) and three rebounds for the Bearcats, while James Legan started off hot in the first half before cooling off in the second to finish with 14 points (5-for-12), four rebounds and two steals.
Panola (11-12, 3-12) trailed 47-36 at halftime and fell behind 56-43 four minutes into the second half. But the Ponies answered with an 11-0 run, capped off by consecutive David Burrell buckets that cut the lead for Lon Morris (12-10, 6-9) to 56-54 with 12:20 left in the game. The Bearcats then hit consecutive 3-pointers, repelling the Pony surge.
A Dominique Whatley 3-pointer brought Panola within five at 67-62 with 7:57 left, but Adinson Mosquera and Hall scored back-to-back Bearcat buckets to push the lead back to nine. With 6:44 remaining, Panola's Don Riley stepped to the line for a one-and-one free-throw opportunity, but missed the front end, leaving the Ponies' deficit at 71-66. Again, Lon Morris responded, as four Jerel Hastings free throws sandwiched a Mathis triple, giving Lon Morris a 78-66 advantage with 5:33 to go.
Panola was only able to cut the deficit to six at 85-79 on two Justin Dennis free throws with 25.1 seconds left as Lon Morris swept the season series over the Ponies.
Panola coach Jacob Wonders said Panola's inability to capitalize at the free-throw line with 6:44 remaining and trailing by five was the beginning of the end.
"It goes downhill from there," Wonders said. "Turnovers really hurt us, and (Lon Morris) made some big buckets at times to answer our runs and stop them, so that really hurt. Mathis really stepped up and hit some big shots."
Whatley led Panola with 16 points (6-for-9), while Kene Anusionwu was strong off the bench with 13 points (5-for-7) and three offensive rebounds. Riley had 11 points (4-for-9) and seven boards, and Dennis added 11 points (3-for-9) and two steals. Aamir McCleary chipped in nine points (4-for-9) and a team-high four assists.
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