PINE PRAIRIE- The Pine Prairie Lady Panthers faced the Iota Lady Dogs here Wednesday night in a back and forth shootout, with the Lady Panthers coming out on top 33-30 in the two teams’ first district contest of the year.
With the win, Pine Prairie improves to 6-5 on the year and are 1-0 in district. The Lady Panthers will host the Sacred Heart Lady Trojans on Monday in a non-district contest.
Pine Prairie’s Kameron Allen played a vital role in the Lady Panthers success, racking up 12 points.
The first period was relatively even, with both teams earning six points each. The Lady Dogs started the game off quickly, earning a 4-0 lead with 5:00 left in the first period. Pine Prairie answered back with four points of their own, all scored by Allen.
The two teams exchanged points the rest of the quarter, with Iota tying the game up, 6-6, with 29 seconds left in the period on two free throws.
The second period saw the two teams almost double the point total of the first quarter. This time the Lady Panthers were the first to strike.
Allen opened up with a layup in heavy traffic for two points to start the scoring. But,
Iota answered back on their next two possesions, going on a 5-0 run.
The Lady Panthers tried to battle back, but the Lady Dogs held fast to a one point lead the entire period, closing out with a 17-16 lead as both teams headed into their locker rooms.
Iota did not let up in the third period, outscoring Pine Prairie 7-4. The Iota defense was relentless against the Lady Panthers, stealing the ball seven times and successfully rebounding 68 percent of the boards. Iota closed out the quarter with a 24-20 lead.
Going into the fourth quarter, Pine Prairie knew that they had to turn up the heat. After Iota scored an initial two points, the Lady Panthers scored eight unanswered points, earning a two point lead, 28-26.
Another bucket from the Lady Dogs tied the game once more. Allen completed a three-point play to give Pine Prarie the lead, 31-28. With only 15 seconds left and the score at 31-30 in favor of the Lady Panthers, the Lady Dogs needed to act fast.
Unfortunately for Iota, they fouled Pine Prairie’s Kaitlin Robinson, sending her to the line with the chance of putting the game away. However, Robinson came up empty, putting Pine Prairie back on the defensive.
Before the Lady Dogs could do anymore damage, the Lady Panthers’ Brianna Wall was fouled and sent to the line to shoot two. Fortunately for Pine Prairie, she made both of her free throws, putting the Lady Panthers up 33-30 with one second left. The Lady Dogs took one last shot from half court, but the ball bounced away on an errant shot.
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SYLIS MANUEL Staff Writer