By Allen Hamrick
If you missed the Lady Panther-Lady Grizzly matchup last Tuesday night, you missed one of the great comebacks of CCHS basketball history.
The game between these two teams is always fast paced and all out because of the rivalry existing between them. This night was no different.
The Lady Panthers had a different game face – they were serious and determined. Fans from Clay and Summersville filled the gym. First up was the JV, and if the varsity game was to be like the JV game, it would be a good one. Lady Panther JV came out, dominated the court and beat the Lady Grizzly JV team 40-27.
The varsity Lady Panthers came out firing on all cylinders but changed their defensive strategy a little from the normal full court press we are used to seeing. The Lady Grizzlies were probably expecting to see this type of defense and were thrown off their game just a little by the tactic.
The game was tight in the first period with both teams getting some points on the boards without too many mistakes. At the end of the first period, it was Lady Panthers 15, Lady Grizzlies 16.
However, in the second period the sights went off the guns of the Lady Panthers; a basket was like trying to find a golden goose egg. Scoring just six points, the Lady Panthers fell way behind in the game. The Lady Grizzlies capitalized on the fouls hitting five for eight and adding 10 more from the field.
At the half it was Lady Panthers 21, Lady Grizzlies 31. The third period was a little better for the Lady Panthers as they started getting the ball in the hoop. However, they were getting called for fouls in the paint and the Lady Grizzlies had 12 free shots at the basket. The Lady Panthers had just three of those same opportunities, giving the Lady Grizzlies the opportunity to stay ahead in the game.
The Lady Panthers were down 16 points at the start of the fourth. Then the sun came up on the horizon for the Lady Panthers. It looked like the Lady Globetrotters had slipped into the blue uniforms, and they couldn’t be stopped. The Lady Panthers came out in full battle gear with the full court press and started taking the ball from the Lady Grizzlies and putting points on the boards.
They made up the 16-point deficit and went ahead in the game with just 14.1 seconds on the board with a bucket from Makalya Horrocks. The score was 64-63 Lady Panthers. It was a great comeback.
I know that I said nothing could stop them, but something unfortunately did. Sketchy calls will do it every time. The game was in the bag but a questionable walking call against Marissa Williams gave the ball back to the Lady Grizzlies. It truly looked like her feet were stuck like glue to everybody but the ref. The Lady Panthers resumed their full on attack to keep the Lady Grizzlies from scoring. With full pressure, an obvious walking call that should have been called was not seen against the Lady Grizzlies, and they got the ball down the court
and were fouled. With about 1.8 seconds left, the Lady Grizzlies dropped two foul shots in the net and won the game.
This was indeed a great game, and it was unfortunate after a great effort by the Lady Panthers that they didn’t come out on top. However, there will be a rematch at home on the 24th of January. I urge all basketball fans to come out in support of the Lady Panthers in what should be a great game. Wouldn’t it be great to see a strong Pit Crew arrive to show Clay County pride?
