Ladies split weekend set
Lady Indians hold on to win
By JARED PUTNAM

Leslie Bittenbinder guards against the shot.

The Lady Panthers were not able to pull out a tight game against Towns County Saturday, as the Lady Indians used pressure and inside shooting to eke out a narrow 51-48 win.

"The first half they killed us, we lost the game in the first half," said Head Coach Mike West. "I think we beat ourselves."

The game was tied 9-9 at the end of the first quarter after Candace Williams hit a threepointer at the buzzer. The Lady Indians pulled ahead in the second quarter, leading 25-19 at the half.

The Lady Panthers dominated the rebounding battle, but Towns County was still able to get points thanks to 50 percent shooting percentage from the floor.

Union County protected the ball better in the second half, only committing 4 turnovers after allowing 18 in the first half.

"That's a concern because that's been a strength of ours, handling pressure," said Coach West. "We've learned how to break presses and we did not look like a team that knew how to break the press the first half. The second half we did." The coach said he was pleased with the second half improvement that allowed the team to get back in the game. Union even took the lead 37-35 in the fourth, on a Kayla Gowder layup, but could not hold the lead.

Gowder led the team with 12 points, while adding 8 rebounds. Williams had 11 points and 4 assists, while Lauren Dyer narrowly missed a double double with 12 pts and 9 rebounds. Jess Seabolt led the team in steals with 5.