Senior captain Jahpera McEachin recorded her fourth double-double of the season with 18 points and a career-high 12 rebounds for the LaGrange College women's basketball team during a 64-55 setback to No. 12 Maryville on Thursday afternoon in Mariotti Gym.
"I am proud of the effort that we competed with on Thursday," said LaGrange College women's basketball head coach Jasen Jonus. "If some more shots fell, it might have been a different result. We give Maryville a great deal of credit. The Scots are solid on both ends of the court and run their sets efficiently. We need to be smarter in certain moments of the game if we want to defeat upper-echelon teams like Maryville. We need to have a short memory and get ready for another big game on Saturday."
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The Panthers (8-1 USA South) and the Scots (9-0) went back and forth with eight ties and nine lead changes. LC will play Maryville on the road Saturday at 3 p.m., and then the Panthers end the regular season with a 6 p.m. game on Tuesday at Piedmont (7-0).
The Panthers, Scots and Lions are all fighting for playoff positioning heading into the two-round 2021 USA South West Division Tournament on March 3 and 6. The top-four teams qualify, with the No. 1 and 2 seeds hosting first-round games.
Senior captain Megan English (10 points) shot 4 of 8 from the field and 2 for 3 from beyond the 3-point line, to go along with three rebounds and three steals. Junior guard Jalaya Lewis finished with 10 points, five rebounds and four steals.
Five Scots scored in double figures, headlined by a 13-point, 18-rebound performance by Kelley Wandell.
FIRST-HALF HIGHLIGHTS:
McEachin attacked the hoop aggressively on the first possession, drawing a foul and draining two free throws nine seconds into the game. In the final minute of the first quarter, junior captain Jada Brown stole the ball. Down the other end, she finished a layup through contact during an old-fashioned, 3-point play. LC led, 20-19, at the end of one.
One minute into the second quarter, sophomore guard Gracie Brunel corralled an offensive rebound off a missed 3-point shot. She sent a textbook pass to Lewis in the paint for an easy layup, giving the Panthers a 22-19 advantage with 8:53 on the clock.
Sophomore forward Breonna Glover went to work in the final minute of the first half. She grabbed an offensive rebound off a missed 3-point shot, and then corralled another one off a missed jumper on her way to converting a layup. Maryville took a 36-31 advantage into halftime.
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SECOND-HALF HIGHLIGHTS:
The Scots built a 49-37 lead with 2:12 left in the third, but LC trimmed the deficit down to 49-43 going into the final quarter on two made free throws by McEachin with two seconds left.
English opened the fourth by drilling a right-baseline trey. The Panthers evened the score at 51-51 with 6:07 remaining on a layup by Brunel. Sophomore forward Morgan Grant orchestrated the play with a steal and a look-ahead pass.
Glover followed up her own miss and converted a layup, giving LC the lead for the first time in the second half at 53-51 with 5:17 showing. The Scots responded with an 8-0 run and claimed a 59-53 advantage with 1:59 left. LC did not get closer than four points the rest of the way.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
Glover pulled down 10 rebounds, finishing with double-digit boards for the second time this season. McEachin shot 6 of 6 from the free-throw line.
The Panthers forced Maryville into 25 turnovers. The hosts held an 18-7 advantage in second-chance points.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:
Maryville leads the all-time series with a 47-4 record. Prior to Thursday's game, the Panthers and Scots split the previous four meetings.
LC's last win in the rivalry occurred on Jan. 25, 2020, by a score of 52-48. It was the second time that the Panthers won on the road against the Scots and their first victory at Maryville since 2012.
UP NEXT:
The Panthers are scheduled to play Maryville on Saturday at 3 p.m. in Maryville, Tennessee.
Assistant Sports Information Director Trevor Wenners can be reached at twenners@lagrange.edu.
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