Lady Panthers defeat Commerce 50-38

Blairsville, Georgia- The Union County Lady Panthers basketball team hosted the Commerce Tigers in a non region matchup.

First Quarter

The Lady Panthers got on the board first as the Panthers pushed the ball up the court quickly. After rebounding a miss, the Tigers tied the game at 2. Following back to back turnovers by the Panthers, the Tigers took a 6-2 lead and the Panthers called timeout. After another Panther turnover, the Tigers made a 3 to extend their lead to 9-2. Sofia McNabb ended the Tigers scoring run with a made 3 to make the score 9-5. Ariel McCarter scored to cut the deficit to 9-7 but the Tigers responded to extend their lead back to 4, 11-7. Lara Turner scored to make the score 11-9. Turner stole the ball and threw the ball down the court as McNabb scored to tie the game at 11. Following a missed shot by the Tigers, McCarter took the ball all the way to the basket and scored to give the Panthers a 13-11 lead. Following a foul, the Tigers made 1/2 free throws to make the score 13-12. After the missed free throw, Rebekah Chambers scored to extend the Panther lead to 15-12 to end the first quarter.

Second Quarter

McNabb got the Panthers on the board first to begin the quarter and extend the lead to 17-12. After a turnover by the Tigers, Corinne Hill took the ball to the basket, got fouled, and scored. Hill made the following free throw to extend the lead to 20-12. Following another turnover by the Tigers, Ava Hunter was fouled attempting to score. Hunter made both free throws to extend the lead to 22-12. Turner stole the following inbound pass and Chambers scored and Turner stole the ball again and scored to make the score 26-12. Turner stole the ball again but the ball went out of bounds and the Tigers called timeout. Following the timeout, Turner stole the ball for the 4th time in a row but the Panthers turned the ball over. The Tigers ended the Panthers 13-0 run with a made 3 pointer to make the score 26-15. Hunter scored but the Tigers responded to make the score 28-17. Chambers scored to extend the lead to 30-17. The Tigers got fouled while attempting to go up for a layup following a missed shot. The Tigers made 1/2 free throws to cut the lead to 30-18. Following another Tigers turnover, McNabb made a deep 2 to extend the lead to 32-18. The Tigers quickly responded with a 3 pointer but Hunter also responded and was fouled as she made a layup. Hunter made the following free throw to make the score 35-21. The Panthers led 35-21 at halftime.

Third Quarter

To begin the second half, both teams took turns missing a couple shots. Chambers scored off a Tigers turnover to give the Panthers their first points of the half and extend the lead to 37-21. McCarter stole the ball and scored to give the Panthers a 39-21 lead. Again, both teams went on a run where neither team scored. Following a block by Hunter, McNabb scored to extend the lead to 41-21. The Tigers ended the Panthers scoring run and scored to make the score 41-23. Hunter was fouled and missed both free throws. After a turnover by the Panthers, the Tigers scored to cut the lead to 41-25. Turner stole the ball and McNabb scored to extend the lead to 43-25. The Panthers led 43-25 at the end of the third quarter.

Fourth Quarter

The Tigers scored first to begin the quarter but Turner quickly responded and extended the lead to 45-27. McCarter made a 3 to extend the lead to 48-27. Turner stole the ball and took the ball all the way to the basket and scored to give the Panthers a 50-27 lead. The Panthers didn’t score any points after this moment but the Tigers ended the game on an 11-0 run. The Panthers beat the Tigers 50-38. The Panthers hosted the Rabun County Wildcats on Tuesday night.