Panthers too strong for Lady Leopards

Drawing the No. 14 seed in the NCHSAA 1A girls’ basketball playoffs, the Lakewood Lady Leopards took to the court Tuesday to host the No. 19 Washington County Panthers. A back-and-forth affair occurred on the court, but when the final whistle blew, the Panthers took the 72-67 upset win to knock Lakewood out of the playoffs.

Jahmai Rich didn’t win the opening tip, but Alexis Rhodes still took it first for the Leopards. It was she who airballed the first Lakewood shot, which gave the Panthers the scoring opportunity at the other end.

Things quickly progressed out of control for the hosting big cats as they went down 4-0 on missed shots and not getting back quick enough on defense. Head coach Lofton Kerr signaled for a timeout just 1:22 into the first quarter to slow down the opposing Panthers.

A 3 from the top of the key gave the visitors the 7-0 lead, but McKoy answered with a triple of her own to get Lakewood on the board. A rebound from A’miyah Smith led McKoy just a bit too much up the court, slowing down a fast break and allowing the defense to recover, fouling McKoy on her layup. She was unable to sink either of the foul shots, keeping the score the same.

A pressuring defense — often trapping the freshman McKoy — paid off early for Washington County, forcing turnovers at both ends. Smith added one free throw to cut the visiting lead to three, but a Panther answered with a foul shot of her own to make it an 8-4 lead.

Missed shots and errant passes still came Lakewood’s way over five minutes into the opening quarter, as they faced a defense they had rarely seen all year. With two minutes showing on the clock, the Leopards were trailing 10-4 before Smith sank a jumper to cut it to 10-6, forcing a Washington County timeout with 1:44 left to play in the first.

Another triple would give the Panthers the 13-6 lead with under a minute of action left in the opening quarter. Smith added another layup to cut it to a five-point deficit, but a Panther put one through the net shortly after to extend it back to seven. Washington County added a fast break layup to make it 17-8 to end the first quarter.

Rhodes misfired a 3 from the left wing to open the second for Lakewood, and Trinity Bell committed a foul on a fast break at the other end. The Panther shooter sank both of her free throws to make it a 19-8 lead less than half a minute into the second quarter.

Rebounds were the bane of Lakewood’s existence, with the Leopards being out-rebounded at both ends of the court. Multiple baskets for the Panthers at this point had come from fast breaks after rebounds. To combat the fast offense, Lakewood moved from their 2-3 or 1-2-2 zone into a full-court press, while trying to create better opportunities for themselves offensively. Fast breaks had been the key to Lakewood’s success all season, but in a true “live by the sword, die by the sword,” they were being eaten alive by them. With 4:25 left in the half, they trailed 21-16 on their 8-4 run, with the last four points coming from Smith.

It was also she who cut the lead to five on a triple from the left side with less than three minutes in the half, making it 24-19. Washington responded with another two to make it 26-19, but the A’miyah Smith show was live for all the fans in attendance. Takiyah Carr shrank the lead once again on a 3 of her own, and Smith was there once more for a trey from the right side, cutting the Washington lead to one at 26-25 in the midst of the Leopards’ 17-9 run in the second. This prompted a Panther timeout with 1:21 in the half.

McKoy hit a layup, assisted by Kiyah Braxton, to make it a 28-27 game in favor of the Panthers at halftime.

An empty possession came Lakewood’s way to start the second half, with Washington taking it to the other end for another fast break. Rhodes fired a deep two to cut the lead to one, but a deep baseline triple pushed the Leopards to the lead at 32-31 — their first lead of the game. McKoy extended it further on a pair of free throws. Smith added a layup for her first points of the half, giving the Leopards the 9-3 run early in the third quarter.

With 4:44 left in the third, Lakewood held the one-point advantage at 38-37, but back-to-back steals from the Panthers netted them four points for the 41-38 lead. McKoy took a fast break for a layup to close it back to a 41-40 lead for the Panthers.

Carr collected a rebound from a McKoy shot to get a put-back for the lead at 42-41. A deep two from the Panthers gave them the 43-42 lead south of three minutes left in the quarter, but a McKoy fast break once again took the lead for Lakewood. Another fast break — this time by Rhodes — made it a 46-43 ball game with 1:39 to play in the third. McKoy added yet another layup to make it 48-43.

The run was on for the Leopards in the third, when they had fallen into their groove at both ends, as an effective defense gave them the quick scoring opportunities they had lived off of all year, resulting in a six-point lead with 14 seconds to play in the third. A Panther basket cut it to a 49-45 Leopard lead to end the period.

Karizma Freeman took a hard charge just 20 seconds into the fourth, resulting in a brief pause in action after she lay on the court for a moment following. Neither offense could get its wheels under itself until the two sides traded a basket less than a minute into the final quarter, moving the score to 51-47, still in favor of the hosts.

Rich picked up her third foul of the game, which was Lakewood’s third of the quarter, at the 6:47 mark. The Panther made one of her two free throws, making it a 51-50 score. McKoy couldn’t connect on a pair of free throws of her own, keeping the score the same. A Washington layup temporarily gave the Panthers the 52-51 lead, but another McKoy fast break retook it with over five minutes still to play.

After another McKoy bucket to extend the lead to three, the Panthers closed it up again to 55-54. The score stayed there until a Washington basket just south of four minutes propelled them back into the lead at 56-55. Braxton tied it on a free throw with 3:22 left to play, and gave the Leopards the one-point lead on her next.

McKoy extended on another layup, making it yet another three-point lead for the hosts at 59-56 with 2:45 yet to play. A crucial jump ball went Lakewood’s way, courtesy of Braxton tying up the Panther, just a second later. Smith launched a 3 but couldn’t come up with it, and the Panthers took a fast break for a layup to cut the lead to one.

Smith extended it further in the late-game cat and mouse that had unfolded, with the lead teeter-tottering between the two squads. A free throw from Washington just north of two minutes cut the lead to two, and another at 1:46 cut the lead to just one at 61-60, still in favor of the Leopards.

McKoy added two free throws but a Panther layup answered. Another fast break from Washington gave the Panthers the 64-63 lead with just over a minute to play, and another two baskets made it 68-63 as time was closing quickly for the Leopards and the Panthers were on a roll. A McKoy 3 made it 68-66, still in favor of Washington, with exactly 40 seconds showing on the clock and a possession for the Panthers.

Double free throws for Washington gave the Panthers the 70-66 lead in the final 30 seconds, as Lakewood could not get possessions to work in their favor. McKoy added just one free throw south of 10 seconds, but it was too little too late, and the Panthers took the 72-67 win on Lakewood’s court.