Senior captain Mykelli Taylor of the LaGrange College women's basketball team recorded her first-collegiate double-double with a team-high 11 points and a career-high 12 rebounds during a 66-26 victory over Toccoa Falls on Thursday evening in Mariotti Gym.
Taylor became the first Panther this season to tally a double-double, as her 11 points were tied for the most in the game. She shot 4-for-9 from the floor and 3-for-6 from 3-point range, finishing with five offensive rebounds.
"Our whole team played with a great deal of energy and kept the intensity up throughout the game," said Taylor. "Hopefully, that will carry over to future games. I tried to focus on my rebounding. My teammates got me the ball when I was open, and I was able to make a few shots."
The Panthers (14-8, 7-6 USA South) held the Screaming Eagles (6-18) to 26 points, which is the fewest points allowed this season by the Panthers and tied for the seventh fewest in program history. LaGrange utilized a balanced attack, as 14 different players found their way onto the score sheet.
The Panthers' defense was outstanding, holding Toccoa Falls off the scoreboard for a period of nine minutes, 43 seconds, during the second and third quarters. For a period of 23 minutes, 10 seconds, from the end of the first to the beginning of the fourth, LaGrange surrendered a total of four points. The Panthers only allowed two points in the second and third quarters, respectively.
FIRST-HALF HIGHLIGHTS:
- The Panthers built an early 7-3 lead 1:41 into the first quarter behind a right-wing 3 by Taylor, a floater in the lane by senior captain Sadie Desroches and a right-side layup by junior guard Jahpera McEachin.
- Taylor gave the unit an 11-7 advantage on a second-chance layup with 4:05 left, and then juniors Nadia Montour and Daijah Cousins finished a pair of layups off steals, pushing the advantage up to 15-7 with 2:34 on the clock.
- Sophomore guard Jalaya Lewis was fouled in the act of shooting a 3-pointer with 24 seconds left and drained all three foul shots, giving the Panthers a 23-11 cushion at the end of one.
- Sophomore forward Nia Johnson made an outstanding play in the second quarter, as she fought for position in the offensive-rebounding action. She got a hand on the ball and quickly rifled a pass over to freshman forward Makayla Phillips for a layup, pushing the team's lead up to 36-13 with 4:06 left in the half.
SECOND-HALF HIGHLIGHTS:
- LaGrange kept attacking in the second half and a right-wing 3 by junior forward Megan English with two seconds left in the third put the Panthers in front, 54-15, heading into the fourth.
- Freshman guard Catherine Skebo made two strong offensive plays on back-to-back possessions in the fourth. With 4:03 left, she converted a layup off an offensive rebound, and then 26 seconds later, she drained a 3-point shot, extending the lead up to 40 points.
- Freshman forward Morgan Grant continues to make the most out of her minutes, as she made an outstanding pass from the foul-line area to a cutting Johnson on the baseline for a layup, giving the squad a 64-22 lead with 2:40 on the scoreboard.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Johnson finished with a career-high nine rebounds, while Phillips recorded a career-best seven points. English recorded a season-high eight points, along with two rebounds and one assist, shooting 2-for-5 from beyond the arc.
- LaGrange's defense limited Toccoa Falls to 8-for-46 shooting from the floor (17.4 percent) and 4-for-25 shooting from 3-point range (16 percent). The 17.4-percent shooting from the floor is the lowest that the Panthers have held an opponent to this season.
- The Panthers held a 56-32 advantage on the glass, along with a 39-4 lead in bench points and a 34-6 edge in points in the paint. LaGrange also won the second-chance points category, 23-6, and the points-off-turnovers statistic, 18-3.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:
- LaGrange is 5-1 all-time in program history against Toccoa Falls, winning the last five meetings.
- The last time the two teams met was on Jan. 31, 2017, in Mariotti, as LaGrange prevailed by a score of 99-32. The 67-point victory is good for the seventh-largest margin in program history.
UP NEXT:
- The Panthers will host USA South-rival Wesleyan on senior day Saturday at 2 p.m. in Mariotti. The game will have a pancreatic-cancer awareness theme, as the Panthers and Wolves will be showing their support for Greensboro women's basketball head coach Randy Tuggle, who is battling pancreatic cancer.
