Lady Panthers fall to 2-3 in region following Tuesday loss to Howard

PERRY, Ga. — The Lady Panthers, now 6-8 on the season, hosted the Howard Huskies on Tuesday. Coming in on a two-game skid, they were looking to get back on track against Howard, a region opponent, but they came up a little short, despite a late push.

In the first quarter, both teams had several fouls, and it was a physical game from the opening tipoff.

Kennedi Miller managed to hit a few three-pointers in the game — one in the first quarter and one in the third quarter — but Perry couldn’t get more shots from behind the arc to fall, which is not the norm. Howard’s defense kept up the pressure.

It was 9-7 after the first quarter, but Perry gave up 13 points in the second and only managed to score eight points, so they were down by seven at halftime, 22-15. Perry picked things up offensively in the third quarter, however, and Malonni Sheffield, who led the team in scoring with 10 points on the night, was scoring inside. Miller hit from three, and Anna Dean got in on the action with a basket, pulling the Lady Panthers to within three points, but they failed to capitalize in the fourth quarter.

Howard put together a big fourth quarter, scoring 17 points, and they put the clamps on Perry, holding them to just nine points. They went on to win 47-38, handing Perry their third straight loss.

The Lady Panthers will travel to Baldwin Friday to take on the Baldwin Braves in a tough region matchup. Baldwin is 4-1 in region play, and they are on a three-game win streak, which included the shellacking they gave West Laurens, 53-17, in their last game.

In order to hang with Baldwin, Perry will need to make it an ugly game, attempting to slow down Baldwin’s high-powered offense, and have success from three-point range. After they play Baldwin, Perry will travel to Peach County Saturday for a non-region matchup.

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