Blairsville, Georgia- The Union County Lady Panthers basketball team hosted the Habersham Central Raiders in a non region matchup for the Lady Panthers second game of the season.

First Quarter

Both teams took turns missing shots to begin the game. Rebekah Chambers got the Panthers on the board first with an easy layup. The Raiders got called for a travel and gave the ball right back to the Lady Panthers. After a Lady Panthers turnover, Lara Turner blocked an attempted layup and quickly passed the ball up the court to Ava Hunter. Hunter went to the line for 2 free throws after being fouled on her attempted layup. Hunter missed both free throws. The Raiders scored and tied the game at 2 and then took a 2 point lead after a steal led to a layup. Turner made a deep 2 to tie the game at 4. The Raiders scored 8 quick points to take a 12-4 lead. Turner ended the 8-0 run with a layup but the Raiders responded with a deep a to extend their lead by to 14-6. Turner stole the ball at mid court and scored. The Raiders scored again after multiple missed shots by the Panthers to extend their lead to 16-8.

Second Quarter

Turner was fouled and made both free throws to cut the deficit to 16-10. Turner made a 3 to cut the deficit to 16-13 and Corrine Hill made a floater to cut the deficit to 1, 16-15. The Raiders responded and extended their lead back to 18-15. Hunter responded with a layup and Chambers got the foul and made the layup to take a 19-18 lead before the attempted free throw. Chambers missed the free throw but the Panthers had a 19-18 lead. Hill was fouled while going up for a jump shot. Hill made both free throws to give the Panthers a 21-18 lead. The Raiders tied the game at 21 after a made 3 pointer. Hill was fouled again on an attempted layup and made 1/2 free throws to give the Panthers a 1 point lead. Hill made a 3 pointer to give the Panthers a 25-21 lead. The Raiders responded with a layup to cut the Panther lead to 2, 25-23. Hunter was fouled during a layup and made the shot. Hunter missed the free throw but the Panthers had a 27-23 lead at halftime. 

Third Quarter

The Raiders started the second half with a 3 pointer to cut the Panthers lead to 1, 27-26. Turner responded with a 3 to extend the Panthers lead back to 4, 30-26. Both teams went scoreless for a bit but Turner went to the free throw line after being fouled. Turner made 1/2 free throws to give the Panthers a 31-26 lead. The Raiders made a 3 pointer and cut the Panthers lead back to 2, 31-29. Hunter made a mid range jumper to extend the lead back to 4 and scored again after a Raiders turnover to extend the lead to 6. Hunter was fouled on the made shot but missed the free throw. The Panthers led 35-29. The Raiders tied the game at 35 after 2 missed shots and turnover by the Panthers. Hunter was fouled in the paint and shot 2 free throws. Hunter made 1/2 to give the Panthers a 1 point lead, 36-35. The Raiders tied the game at 36 after making 1/2 free throws. Sofia McNabb was fouled attempting a layup. McNabb made 1/2 but Ariel McCarter was fouled going up for a shot after getting the rebound. McCarter made both free throws to give the Panthers a 39-36 lead. Hill made a fast break layup to give the Panthers a 41-36 lead. McNabb made a layup to give the Panthers a 43-36 lead. Hunter made a layup to extend the lead to 45-36 and McNabb scored again after a steal and a fast break layup. The Panthers extended their lead to 47-36 and the Panthers were on an 11-0 run. The Panthers led 47-36 at the end of the 3rd quarter.

Fourth Quarter

Both teams had a hard time making baskets to begin the quarter. Chambers got fouled on an attempted layup but Turner stole the ball at mid court and scored to extend the Panther run to 17-0. The Raiders ended the run with a 3 pointer but the Panthers still led 53-39. The Raiders scored and forced a Panthers turnover to gain a little momentum still down 53-41. Chambers scored after another Panthers steal to extend the lead 55-41. The Raiders didn’t have any quit in them but they were having a tough time stopping the Panthers. The Panthers would outscore the Raiders 14-8 to end the game. The Lady Panthers beat the Raiders 61-49 to win their second game of the season. The Lady Panthers faced Rabun Gap on Wednesday night and lost 64-40.