Lady Panther Basketball Team starting to roll
UC wins Tip-Off Tournament
By TODD FORREST Sentinel Writer

The Union County Lady Panthers (2-0) went on a 29-2 run that stretched the final minute of the first quarter to 1:21 remaining in the third quarter. The Union defense kept White from scoring a field goal for nearly two quarters and when White finally scored a bucket, Union was leading by 30 points and the outcome was in very little doubt. The Lady Panthers were lead by Tournament MVP Candace Williams, who scored 19 points and hit three threepointers. All-Tournament Team selection, Kayla Gowder also had 19 points. Gowder scored 13 of her 19 points during the 2nd and 3rd quarters. Leslie Bittenbinder was also named to the All-Tournament Team after scoring four points and providing Coach West some outstanding defense and help on the boards. The 25 point victory matches the largest margin of victory for the Lady Panthers during Coach West's tenure at Union. The Lady Panthers have also won three straight Tip-Off Tournament games. All coming against AAA schools. Union has also won two of their last three meetings with White County. "I thought we would win by 3-5 points and it would be a dog fight the whole game," said Coach West. "When we were meeting before the game and I told them that we were going to play White County three times this year, but this was the only time we were going to play them with a championship on the line they were so pumped and focused that I knew we were going to win, I just knew it!"

During the opening minute of the first quarter, White County jumped out to a 4-0 lead and Union was unable to break their press. Coach West called a timeout and Williams answered with eight straight Panther points off of two three-pointers and ninetyseconds later, Union held an 8-6 lead. A lead they would never relinquish. Union would lead by as much as eight (14-6) in the opening period and held a 16-12 lead after one. Williams led Union with eight points in the quarter, Gowder had four, Mary Catherine Edmondson and Bittenbiner each scored two. "Someone forgot everything we had talked about in breaking the zone press," said Coach West. "We came out in a man to man press breaker instead of the zone breaker and were all confused! I called a timeout, then we hit the two inbounds threes on great shots and screens by Kayla and Candace and she (White's coach) was forced to call the timeout. After that we were throwing over it and pushing it down the floor the rest of the night. It also helped that since they couldn't score, they couldn't press. Our defense was very good all night!"

The Lady Panthers began to pull away during the second quarter. Union opened with a 7-0 run to start the quarter. White County's offense would only manage two free-throws on offense and Union outscored the Lady Warriors 13-2 in the quarter number two and led 29-14 at halftime. Gowder would score seven points in the quarter, with five points coming at the stripe. Sarah Fulghum added two points for the Lady Panthers. "I was very proud of the defensive effort and the ability to make the two defensive adjustments that we had to make on the backpick and the pick and roll; we outrebounded them and we had a lot of transition points. Last year we got the ball to Candace and brought it down the floor, but this year everyone of my starters is allowed to bring it down on the break and the others fill the lanes. As a result, you have Kayla passing to Candace or Sarah for a lay up instead of Candace setting up the offense," said Coach West.

Union County put the game away with a 16-0 run to open the third quarter. Union led 45-14 when White scored their first field goal in almost sixteen minutes of action. The Lady Panthers took a 47-16 lead into the fourth quarter. Williams scored seven, Gowder six, and Fulghum five points in the third quarter.

The Mercy Rule went into effect at the start of the fourth quarter, which shortens the length of the quarter from eight minutes to six minutes. Just thirty seconds into the final frame, Edmondson scored a bucket to give Union its largest lead of the game at 33 points. Coach West played his entire bench for most of the fourth quarter. Edmondson led the Lady Panthers with four points in the quarter. Gowder and Bittenbinder each added two points.

In his fourth season at Union County, Coach West is making sure that nobody forgets that Union still has a girls program. "Our boys have been good for years and have gotten a lot of accolades and rightfully so, but we do have a group of girls that bust their butts just as hard as the boys night in and night out! It is a little scary, but it sure beats the alternative," said Coach West. "I have learned more about my team after those three games than you can possibly imagine. If we are able to make the adjustments and find the depth, we will really be a force to be reckoned with; however, foul trouble and injuries could easily be our undoing!"

The Lady Panthers will play their home opener this Friday against Tallulah Falls, then host rival Towns County on Saturday. Last season, Union County split with Tallulah Falls with their win coming in Blairsville. However, Union lost three times to the Towns County Lady Indians. Two of the three losses were by less than four points and could have easily went in the Lady Panthers' favor. The Lady Panthers haven't beaten Towns since December 2004. Since then, Towns has won six straight over the Lady Panthers. This year's seniors are looking to improve their win-loss record against Towns before they graduate. Coach West's keys to beating Towns are "staying out of foul trouble, stay healthy, protect the home floor, and stop the two guards from Towns County."