Junior guard Jahpera McEachin dropped a team-high 16 points and junior guard Daijah Cousins finished with 10 points and a season-high seven assists for the LaGrange College women's basketball team during a 72-65 USA South win over Covenant on Wednesday at Mariotti Gym.
The 72 points are the most scored by the Panthers (7-5, 2-3 USA South) this season. Cousins was huge in the fourth, finishing with five points, two assists and two steals in the quarter. She made a series of clutch plays to hold off a late Covenant (5-8, 2-2 USA South) run. Senior captain Mykelli Taylor (11 points) finished 3-for-3 from 3-point range.
With the win, Panthers head coach Lee Buchanan earned his 99th-career victory at LaGrange, which gives him the most wins in program history.
"It was a really good win for our team and players," said Buchanan. "We did a good job on the offensive end, and I was pleased that we scored over 70 points. We shot the ball well and that is a good sign. We are playing a lot of players and a lot of different combinations, so we are getting contributions from a lot of difference places, which is a good thing."
McEachin went 6-for-10 from the floor, 2-for-3 from 3-point range and 2-for-2 from the free-throw line. As a team, the Panthers shot 7-for-13 from 3-point range (53.8 percent), racing out to a 40-26 halftime lead.
"We had really good energy in the first half and built a good lead," said McEachin. "Now, we must get a complete 40-minute game with the same energy and effort. I am hopeful that this type of game will help us build some momentum moving forward."
FIRST-HALF HIGHLIGHTS:
- After the Scots raced out to a 12-7 lead, Taylor responded with a left-of-the-arc 3 off a post pass by senior captain Sarah Evans with 4:54 left in the first. The Panthers pulled even at 12-12 on a floater in the paint by McEachin 33 seconds later.
- On the ensuing possession, McEachin recorded a steal, and then attacked in transition, finishing off a layup and giving the unit the lead for good at 14-12 with 4:01 on the scoreboard.
- An in-close jumper by Evans off a perimeter pass by junior forward Megan English gave LaGrange an 18-15 lead with 2:14 remaining. Evans converted a jumper off an inbounds pass by Cousins with 1:37 remaining, giving the squad a 20-15 advantage.
- With 1:11 left, Cousins pulled down a tough defensive rebound in traffic. She then looked up and fed sophomore guard Jada Brown with a perfect transition pass for an easy layup, pushing the advantage up to 22-15 at the end of one.
- Taylor extended the Panthers' lead up to 32-25 on a left-of-the-arc three-ball with 2:50 left in the half.
- McEachin buried 3-point shots on back-to-back possessions. With 2:24 left, she converted one off a transition feed by senior captain Sadie Desroches. Thirty-eight seconds later, she buried a trey off another stellar inbounds pass by Cousins.
- Junior forward Adreona Bowen finished off a second-chance opportunity in the paint with 1:15 left, giving the Panthers a 40-25 advantage.
SECOND-HALF HIGHLIGHTS:
- Junior center Nadia Montour made a strong run down the middle of the court and Taylor spotted her with a crisp pass for a layup with 8:41 left in the third. The conversion allowed the hosts to build a 44-26 lead, which was the largest of the game.
- A right-baseline 3-pointer by freshman guard Catherine Skebo put the Panthers in front, 51-34, with 3:35 on the clock. Brown converted a fast-break layup 1:29 into the fourth, as the team led, 54-41.
- Bowen drilled a clutch left-of-the-arc 3 with 5:07 left, allowing the Panthers to build a 61-47 lead.
- The Scots cut the Panthers' lead down to five on two separate occasions during the final 3:18.
- Cousins drove hard to her left and absorbed contact during an old-fashioned, 3-point play with 1:37 left, which gave the Panthers some breathing room at 66-58. On the next possession, Cousins came up with a steal, and then assisted on sophomore guard Jalaya Lewis' layup for a 10-point lead. The squad built a 70-60 lead with 52 seconds left on a layup by Evans, with the play being orchestrated by strong dribble penetration from Cousins.
WHAT THEY SAID:
Panthers Head Coach Lee Buchanan: "Mykelli and Jahpera shot the 3 really well and got us started. Daijah also had a strong game. I was disappointed in our overall defense, but I give Covenant credit for how diligently it played and how well it executed its offense. We must continue to practice hard every day and continue to improve. We have several conference games remaining and every one of them is important."
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- The Panthers forced 19 turnovers and only made 13, while holding an 11-4 advantage in steals. The Panthers shot 48.2 percent from the floor, going 27-for-56.
- LaGrange led the points-in-the-paint statistic, 36-20, while holding a commanding 38-4 advantage in bench points.
- Bowen finished with nine points and four boards, while Evans recorded six points and two boards. Bowen shot 4-for-6 from the floor, while Evans was 3-of-5.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:
- LaGrange improved to 15-5 all time against Covenant, as the Panthers avenged a 58-55 loss to the Scots last February.
- During the 2016-17 season, the Panthers went 3-0 against the Scots, including a victory in the first round of the USA South Tournament.
- From 2010-17, LaGrange won 13-of-14 games in the rivalry. The Panthers improved to 9-1 all time at Mariotti against Covenant.
UP NEXT:
- The Panthers will be back in action on Saturday at 2 p.m. in Mariotti against USA South-foe Agnes Scott.
