Written by: Danny Talbert
The Panthers take on Berry College at home to begin the CCS-SAA Classic on Nov. 11 at 4 p.m. The following day, LC faces Sewanee at 3 p.m.
The matchup
Last season, LaGrange College posted a superb 20-7 (13-3 CCS) record. This placed the Panthers in second out of nine teams in the CCS. LC made it to the postseason CCS semifinals but dropped the game to Piedmont in a close match (Feb. 25, 2023). The team looks to carry the success of last year into the season. Zyhia Johnson returns to play for the Panthers this year. The offensive guru started in 24 games and averaged a team-high 15.2 points per contest. She was voted to the CCS First Team All-Conference. Sophomore Laila Battle also returns this season for the Panthers. During her freshman year, she played in 26 games and averaged 11.6 points per game as well as led the team with 3-points made (27). She would go on to be named CCS 6th Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year in the 2022-23 season. Berry College is coming off of a solid 16-11 season and made it to the semifinals of the SAA Championship but lost in overtime to Centre 65-59 (Feb. 25, 2023). A key player returning for the Vikings is sophomore guard Kenadie Lee. She led the team in points (353) and assists (70). In the 27 games played, this averaged out to 13.1 points and 2.6 assists per game. Elly Callihan is another key player returning for the Vikings. She led the team in rebounds per game (5.8) while scoring 8.4 points and 1.5 steals per game during her freshman season. The Sewanee Tigers went 4-22 last season with all of their wins being at home. Guard Kayla Antoine led the Tigers in points (385), which averaged out to an impressive 14.8 points per game. She also led in rebounds with 9.7 per game (88 total). The Nashville, Tenn. native is a dominant player on both sides of the court and should present a tough matchup for anyone that covers her this weekend.
Previous matchups
The LC women's basketball team is 9-8 all-time against Berry College. The Panthers won the last matchup 83-70 at Berry (Nov. 12, 2022). In the game, Zyhia Johnson shot a team-high 17 points while shooting 5-9 from FG and 7-8 from the free throw line. The guard also had five rebounds and two steals. Sophomore forward Amanda Mclendon led the Panthers in rebounds (7) while also scoring ten points, having two assists and one block. Mclendon led LC last season in rebounds with 8.8 per game. Kenadie Lee led the Vikings in points (18) in the matchup against the Panthers. She was 6-11 from FG, 3-6 from 3PT and 3-3 in FT. This was Lee's fourth highest scoring game of the season and most likely will be an impact player for Berry in this matchup. LC is 5-4 all-time against Sewanee. The last time the two teams played, the Panthers beat the Tigers 77-50 (Nov. 13, 2022). Then freshman Annika Bonds scored the highest amount of points (9) for returning LC players in the game against the Tigers. Kayla Antoine led Sewanee in points (14) and rebounds (8) vs LC and should come out firing against the Panthers.
Support the team
Season tickets are still on sale! Buy them today here.
When and where
The season tips off in Mariotti Gym against Berry on Nov. 11 at 4 p.m. The full game can be streamed here.
