By Tj Wills
On Tuesday night the women's basketball team of Clark Atlanta University faced off against the University of West Georgia. With the (0-2) Clark Atlanta Panthers looking for their first win of the season they welcomed a (0-1) West Georgia wolves team who would also be looking for their first win. What had the makings of a blowout early as the Panthers came out blazing hot turned into an intense come from behind victory for the wolves in the Panther's home opener at Epps Gymnasium.
The 1st quarter was dominated by the Panthers as everyone in attendance
thought we were looking at a blowout victory. The Panthers came out blazing hot on offense as Regan Jackson got the ball rolling with a 3 pointer and the defensive presence was there for the Panthers as Denise Stine stole the ball and took it to the other end for a layup. Autumn Morings also got in on the action as she put in a layup giving the Panthers an early 14-6 lead. Regan Jackson then went on a scoring surge as she powered the Panther's offense by pouring in 13 points in the first
giving the Panthers a 23-8 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The 2nd quarter was far more competitive than the 1st quarter even though both
Brianna Pope and Kaia Barnett put in layups for the Panthers giving them a 19
point lead. A few minutes into the quarter we were welcomed with a little 3 point
contest as Maegan Barkley put in a 3 for the Panthers Tahya Campbell responded
with a 3 for the wolves then Denise Stine came down and put another 3 in for the
Panthers. With the wolves down by 18, they decided enough was enough and
started to make this game competitive again. With a fast break layup for Siera
Carter, the wolves then went on an 18-6 run to end the half to trim the Panther lead.
With the score now being 39-34, we were in store for an entertaining 2nd half.
In the 3rd quarter, the Panthers were determined to not give up the lead they
built as they went on a 12-4 run highlighted by a midrange jumper from Alexis Mann and a 3 pointer from Denise Stine. The wolves were able to hang around in the game with a few fast-break layups and free throws. Regan Jackson continued to dominate the game as she poured in 16 points in the quarter keeping the Panthers in front with a 63-52 lead heading into the 4th quarter.
In the 4th quarter, the Panther's offense went on a dry spell as they opened
the door for the wolves to make a comeback. It was a team effort for the wolves as
Siera Carter, Zaria Bankston, and Valencia Carroll all put in big-time buckets to put
the wolves within striking distance. With another Siera Carter steal and layup, the
score is now 65-61 with 3 minutes remaining. With a Mariah Holder layup and a
Zaria Bankston 3 pointer in the corner, the Wolves were now on top with a 66-65
lead with 1:40 left to play. The Panthers called a timeout and drew up a play for
Regan Jackson to score and she did. With 34 seconds left Jackson put in a layup and the Panthers took the lead back. As the wolves went back on offense Denise Stine came up with a huge steal and layup giving the Panthers a 3 point lead with 19 seconds left forcing the wolves to call a timeout. With everyone in attendance on their feet chanting defense Tahya Campbell nailed a stepback 3 with 9 seconds left tying up the game and silencing the crowd. The Panthers rushed up the court and tried to score but didn’t and we are headed to overtime.
Overtime was a defensive slugfest as neither teams were able to score
anything from the field. The Panthers were able to jump out to a 74-73 via free
throws. With 28 seconds left Siera Carter of the wolves scored another fastbreak
layup giving the wolves a 75-74 lead. Unfortunately, the Panthers couldn’t respond
as they turned the ball over out of bounds with 9 seconds left. The Panthers tried to
foul the wolves but they did so while Siera Carter scored the layup giving the
wolves an and-one opportunity. Carter nailed the free throw and the wolves came
out on top 78-74 over the panthers.
Megan Jackson led the Panthers with 33 points and Denise Stine chipped in
with 12 of her own.
The (0-3) Panthers will host Lemoyne-Owen College Saturday at 2 pm at the Epps
Gymnasium.
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