On the prowl

CHURCH POINT -- The Pine Prairie hoops teams went on the prowl here Wednesday night, hoping to hunt down more wins to add to their impressive totals this season.
Unfortunately for one of those teams, the prey did not cooperate, as the Lady Panthers fell to the Chuch Point Lady Bears 46-37 in an uncharacteristically like performance from Pine Prairie.
With the loss, the Lady Panthers fall to 13-7 on the year and 0-2 in district play.
For the Panthers, the hunt was a successful one, as they took a 63-54 win over Church Point.
With the win, Pine Prairie moves to 10-2 on the season and 1-0 in league competition.
A slow night on the floor offensively for the Lady Panthers permeated throughout the game. Both Pine Prairie and Church Point could not get on track in the first quarter, finishing the period in an 8-8 tie.
The second quarter saw some improvement in both offenses. The struggle to score points found its way into the first 5:20 of the period, with the game still tied at 13-13. However, the Lady Panthers picked up the pace over the final 2:40 of the half, out scoring the Lady Bears 7-2 to take a 20-15 lead into the locker room.
Over the course of the first 2:05 of the third quarter, Pine Prairie lost their lead, as Church Point went on a 9-2 run. By the time the period came to a close, the Lady Panthers found themselves with a three point deficit, 32-29.
In the final quarter, Pine Prairie desperately tried to close the gap, even getting within two points, 39-37, at the 2:15 mark. Never-the-less, the Lady Panthers could not muster the energy or points to overcome the Lady Bears.
Asia George led the way for the Lady Panthers with 12 points.
In the nightcap, the Panthers found themselves trailing by six points, 8-2, after only 3:12 gone in the first quarter. Pine Prairie righted the ship over the next 4:48, outscoring Church Point 14-5 to take a three point lead into the ensuing period.
The Panthers opened up a 19-13 lead early on in the second quarter behind the two-for-three performance at the charity stripe by Isaiah Payne. But, the Bears cut back into that lead with three free throws of their own.
Most of the second quarter was spent at the free throw line for both clubs. Only four of the 15 points in the period came from the floor, with the remainder coming at the line. The Panthers managed to hit on seven-of-eight free throws, all of those courtesy of Payne, to take a 23-21 lead into half.
Defensive pressure and fast break points turned the tide for Pine Prairie in the third quarter. With the Panthers leading 25-23 early in the period, Pine Prairie went on a 12-1 run the rest of the quarter to open up a 13 point lead over Church Point as the quarter came to a close.
The Bears decided to turn up the heat on the defensive side of the floor, hoping to get some more offensive possessions. But the ball handling skills of the Pine Prairie guards would not allow that to happen.
Church Point did manage to cut the lead down to eight, 45-37 with 4:35 to go in the game, but could not push past the Panthers.
Payne lit up the scoreboard with 34 points to lead the Panthers. Raylin Thomas chipped in nine points in the win.