Moving on! Lady Panthers advance to the Class AA quarterfinals
Lady Panthers, TeamFYNSports February 21, 2020
For the first time in nearly two decades, the Union Co. Lady Panthers are back in the Class AA state playoff quarterfinals after a dominating 61-37 win against Butler in the second round Wednesday, Feb. 19, in Blairsville.
Sophomore Ava Hunter drives inside for two of her game-high 20 points Wednesday night.
As usual, Union Co. (23-6) used a high-pressure, full-court defense to spark a run early and never looked back on the way to the victory.
Head coach Crystal Beach said after the game that she felt her team is playing the best it has all season
Senior Brooke Dockrey knocks down a jump shot for Union Co. on Wednesday.
“I think that we are (playing our best). Of course, as coaches, we always try to see little things we can do better,” Beach said. “But that’s what you want to happen at this point in the season. You’re playing your best ball, making the adjustment, having your team make the adjustments and execute, that’s what leads to beating great teams like we did tonight. They’re a great, great team over there. (We) have a lot of respect for them.”
With the win, the Lady Panthers secured their spot in the quarterfinals. Due to a universal coin flip made by the Georgia High School Association earlier this week, the top team in the bracket, when teams with like seedings meet, will be the home team in the quarterfinals. As such, the Region 8-AA champion Lady Panthers will be the home team when they face Region 1-AA champion Early Co. (25-4) on Tuesday, Feb. 25, at 7 p.m. The Lady Bobcats will have to make the 300-mile trip north from Blakely to take on the Lady Panthers after defeating Chattooga 64-45 in the second round Thursday, Feb. 20.
“Any time you can play at home in the state tournament is a huge deal,” Beach said of winning the coin flip. “Playing in front of a home crowd means something to our girls, and they played like that tonight.”
While the Lady Panthers started the game on a 6-0 run and never trailed, visiting Butler (19-10) went on a 6-0 run of their own at the end of the first quarter and startof the second to close the gap to 15-14 less than a minute into the second period.
Senior Andelin Hill looks for options Wednesday.
Then Union Co.’s defense took over, forcing multiple turnovers and sparking the offense to a 16-2 run to end the first half.
Sophomore Ava Hunter and senior Kait McCarter each had six points in the second to lead the Lady Panthers.
Hunter finished with a game-high 20 points to go along with eight rebounds, two assists, and three steals.
McCarter finished with a double-double: 11 points and 13 rebounds.
The second half proved more of the same as the Lady Panthers, sparked by a 3-pointer from senior Andelin Hill to start the frame, stretched the run to 25-2 before Butler finally managed to get on the board and make the margin 40-18 with 4 minutes and 35 seconds left in the third.
Hill finished with 11 points, including two made 3-pointers.
Senior Brooke Dockrey scored six points in the third and finished the night with eight points overall. Dockrey added six rebounds, two assists, and two steals in the win.
Freshman Ellie Cook scored six points, all in the first half, from her starting guard role, while fellow freshman Corinne Hill managed to hit a lay-up late in the game to round out the scoring for Union Co.
For more pictures from Union Co. second-round game with Butler, click here.
Panthers see season end in first round of playoffs
Sports, TeamFYNSports, Union County Panthers February 17, 2020
Despite outscoring Douglass in the second half 31-23, the Union Co. Panthers basketball squad couldn’t overcome being outscored 26-3 in the second as they fell, 63-50 in the first round of the Class AA state tournament in Atlanta.
Senior Sawyer Drake drives to the basket in recent action for the Panthers.
Coming in as the No. 3 seed from Region 8-AA, the Panthers (15-12) narrowly missed being either of the top two seeds after falling to Social Circle by just four points, 62-58, in the semifinals of the region tournament. The loss proved important as Douglass (20-8) is one of the stronger two seeds in the tournament. The Astros hail from Region 6-AA.
Senior Kyle Morlock lines up a free throw in recent action for the Panthers.
The game was close early as the Panthers, led by seniors Pierson Allison, Sawyer Drake, Sawyer Brey, Kyle Morlock, and Cayden Rich, managed to keep step with the Astros to trail by just four, 14-10, after the first quarter.
But the second frame was all Astros. Union Co. managed just three points in the period as the home team put up 26 to take a 40-13 lead into halftime.
The Panthers did not go quietly, however. Led by the same superior guard play that led them to a strong showing after starting the season 3-6, Union Co. came storming back to cut the lead to 49-34 at the end of the third by outscoring Douglass 21-9 in the period.
The Panthers managed just cut the lead to 12 at 53-41 with a little less than four minutes to go, but the Astros would not be denied as they closed on a 10-9 run to preserve the first round victory.
While the loss is disappointing for the Panthers, this is the second-straight season the team has reached the state playoffs. This was also the first season with coach Corey Garrett at the helm.
The starting five will be completely different next year as Union Co. loses six seniors to graduation: Allison, Drake, Brey, Morlock, Rich, and Bryson Lariscy.
Dominating defense leads Lady Panthers to playoff win
Lady Panthers, Sports, TeamFYNSports February 14, 2020
Led by a dominating defense, the Union Co. girls basketball team controlled every phase of the game Thursday night, Feb. 13, in a 69-40 win against Therrell in the first round of the Class AA state playoffs in Blairsville.
Freshman Ellie Cook goes up for a shot Thursday, Feb. 13. Cook finished with seven points in the win.
Union Co. (22-6) forced turnovers on the first four Therrell (10-11) possessions while putting together an 8-0 run on offense. They led 16-7 at the end of the first quarter and never looked back.
Sophomore Ava Hunter, who is averaging 16.6 points per game this season, scored 27 in the win, which tied for her second-highest point total in 2019-20.
Despite the entire Union Co. squad having no state playoff experience, head coach Crystal Beach said the Lady Panthers came prepared.
“They were very focused going in,” Beach said. “Emotions and energy levels are always high, but they handled it well and stepped to the floor ready to play Lady Panther basketball.”
Even though Union Co. held visiting Therrell to just seven points in the first quarter, and built a 17-point lead, 36-19, heading into halftime, Beach said the defense still has some work to do.
“There are some things we need to improve a bit (on defense),” Beach said. “The press worked for us, but we need to execute more tightly with some of the things we saw out there. We definitely did what we had to do. Therrell is a great ball-handling team, with several kids who can take it all the way, so for us to put a stop to that shows how strong and capable our defense can be.”
Along with Hunter’s 27 points, senior Kait McCarter scored 12, while dominating on the offensive and defensive glass.
Senior Andelin Hill scored nine points, including knocking down two 3-pointers in the second half to keep the game out of reach for Union Co.
Senior Brooke Dockrey, left, drives into the lane Thursday, Feb. 13, in the first round of the Class AA state playoffs.
Point guard Brooke Dockrey, also a senior, scored eight points, while controlling the game’s tempo and keeping the Lady Panthers in a constant attacking mode on offense.
Those four players – Hunter, McCarter, Hill, and Dockrey – have been the core of success for the Lady Panthers this season, and Beach said she wasn’t surprised they showed up big when it mattered the most.
“That’s what you expect of them in this moment. That’s what we’ve practiced and preached all season, and that’s what you expect: stepping up when it matters most,” Beach said.
Freshman Ellie Cook, who scored the first two points of the game with a layup off the opening tip, finished the night with seven points.
Sophomore Rebekah Chambers scored six points, all in the second half, to round out the scoring for Union Co.
With the win, the Lady Panthers advanced to the second round of the Class AA state playoffs. As the No. 1 seed from Region 8-AA, they will host the winner of Bryan Co. and Butler.
Bryan Co. (22-5) is the second seed from Region 2, while Butler (18-9) is the third seed from Region 4.