Lady Panthers lose first game of season at Fannin Co.

Lady Panthers, TeamFYNSports
Lady Panthers
Lady Panthers

Sophomore Ava Hunter drives the lane against Fannin Co. on Saturday. Hunter finished with a game-high 17 points.

The Lady Panthers jumped out to a 5-0 overall record this season, but suffered their first loss Saturday, Dec. 7, on the road at Fannin Co., 52-47.

Union Co. (5-1) was in the game late, but too many turnovers forced by a full-court Lady Rebels press in the fourth quarter led to the loss.

Head coach Crystal Beach said the Lady Panthers have to start quicker and continue to press throughout the game.

“We got off to a slow start, even with the early lead,” Beach said. “We can’t have that, and it’s a big part of what we need to develop right now. We can’t wait until the third quarter to start playing with urgency.”

Union Co. took an early lead on Fannin Co. (5-2, 0-2 Region 7-AAA), but the home team managed to bounce back quickly and tie the game at 13 all after the first quarter.

Sophomore Ava Hunter scored seven of her game-high 17 points in the first, including shooting 5-of-8 from the free-throw line in the period. She finished the game 9-of-14 from the line.

So far this season, Hunter is leading the team with 18.8 points per game just a year removed from being named the 2018-19 Class AA Freshman of the Year.

“Ava is one of the best competitors I’ve ever seen,” Beach said. “We’re going to expect her to continue to produce like she has, and I don’t see any reason to expect she won’t.”

Lady Panthers

Senior Andelin Hill goes up for a shot against Fannin Co. on Saturday. Hill finished with seven points.

Hunter is also averaging double-digit rebounds per game for the Lady Panthers.

The Lady Rebels buried three 3-pointers in the second quarter to take a 27-22 lead over Union Co. heading into halftime.

Freshman Ellie Cook hit a 3-pointer, senior Andelin Hill made a pair of free throws, and Hunter scored twice from the block, but it wasn’t enough to draw even before halftime.

The Lady Panthers came out with purpose in the third quarter to draw within a point at 36-35 at the end of the period.

Senior Brooke Dockrey scored all seven of her points in the third quarter, while senior Kait McCarter went 4-of-4 from the free-throw line.

McCarter finished 9-of-10 from the charity stripe to account for all nine of her points.

Lady Panthers

Senior Kait McCarter moves in for a rebound against Fannin Co. on Saturday. McCarter finished the game with nine points.

“Kait leads by her actions and has been all season. Her teammates assume she’s going to make free throws, because that is what she does: whatever we need when we need it most. That’s all you can ask for,” Beach said.

Despite the pushback, all the momentum was going Fannin Co.’s way, inspired by a full-court defense that gave Union Co.’s guard fits all afternoon.

“We just didn’t execute well,” Beach said of the game as a whole. “We didn’t take the shots we should have taken and didn’t make a lot of shots we’re going to need to make moving forward.”

Despite the loss, Beach has no plans to change the team’s philosophy of playing as fast as possible.

“That is absolutely the mindset. We want to force turnovers, push the ball, and score in transition. We have to play our best and just continue to get better,” Beach said. “But most of all, we have to focus on jumping out fast and never letting up.”

Up next for Union Co. is the Region 8-AA opener against Elbert Co., beginning at 6 p.m., Friday, Dec. 13, in Blairsville. Elbert Co. is 2-1 overall and is a year removed from reaching the second round of the Class AA state playoffs.

The Lady Panthers and Lady Blue Devils split their two matchups last season, with each team winning on the road.

To read about the Union Co. Lady Panthers Player of the Week, click here.

 

 

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