ORANGEBURG, SC – The Claflin Lady Panthers (1-3) turned in a stellar defensive performance to claim an 81-69 win over the Edward Waters Lady Tigers (5-2), Monday evening. The Lady Panthers were able to keep the Lady Tigers offense off balance with some solid on-the-ball defense to disrupt their offense all night long in the win.While the Lady Panthers defense stole the show, the effort was also combined with a terrific offensive performance as well to claim the win. As a team, the Lady Panthers totaled 31 turnovers in the game. The team also held the Lady Tigers to shooting just 34.9% (22-of-63) from the floor. Offensively, the Lady Panthers were strong as well, shooting a hot 49.1% (28-of-57) from the floor. Junior forward Breanna Price led the Lady Panthers’ scoring effort with a double-double 18 points and 10 rebounds while freshman guard Janelle Sample added 17 points. Junior Destiny Coleman added 12 points with seven rebounds as well.
The Lady Panthers opened the game on a high note with a dominating first half of play. The team was especially impressive in the first quarter when they held the Lady Tigers to just seven points while putting up 20 points of their own. For the quarter, the Lady Panthers allowed just three field goals to the Lady Tigers in the quarter. The second quarter told a different story with both teams finding their offensive way, but the Lady Panthers would never let their lead slip away. After opening the quarter with a 13-point lead, the Lady Panthers went ahead by as many as 17 points, 34-17, after a pair of free throws from freshman guard Janelle Sample with 2:00 left in the second quarter. The Lady Panthers allowed a late nine-point run by the Lady Tigers to get as close as eight points, 34-26 with 00:41 left in the quarter, but a Sample three-pointer with 00:21 left gave the Lady Panthers a 37-26 lead at halftime.
In the second half, the Lady Panthers held off an early surge by the Lady Tigers remain in control of the game and to pull out the win. After taking a 48-40 lead over the Lady Tigers with 3:11 left in the third quarter, the Lady Panthers closed the quarter by allowing just one EWC field goal in the final three minutes and closing the quarter with a 58-46 lead after a buzzer-beating lay-up from Price. In the fourth quarter, the Lady Tigers made a furious effort to get back into the game, but the Lady Panthers matched them at every turn. The Lady Panthers surged ahead midway through the quarter as a free throw from junior Jalah Horton gave the Lady Panthers a 70-50 lead with 5:47 left to play. In the final minutes of the game, the Lady Panthers’ lead was cut down to 12 points, but the Lady Panthers held off the Lady Tigers to pull out the win.
With the victory, the Lady Panthers improve to 1-3 on the season.