Written by: Danny Talbert
Zyhia Johnson 23-point game contributes to the Panthers 101-50 win over the Huntingdon Hawks (Jan. 20)
First half details
The Panthers began the game going up 7-0 in just the first 45 seconds. After a quick move past her defender, Amanda Mclendon began the Panther run when she scored a contested layup. On the next play, the forward grabbed the Hawks loose ball and scored another two points. The Panthers were locked in during the first. Whenever the Hawks got close, LC would respond. The first quarter ended off on a Panther 8-0 run which included two LC steals. At the end of the quarter, LC led 28-12. As a team, the Panthers shot 55% from the field and 43% from three. Early in the second, Ema Turner had the Panthers bench on their feet when she made an explosive move past her defender, scored the layup and got the and-one call. Zyhia Johnson also had the Panther faithful on their feet and cheering when she knocked down back-to-back threes to extend the LC lead to 46-18.The Panthers would continue to dominate the visiting Hawks. At half, LC led 56-28.
Zyhia Johnson had a team-high 19 points, shooting 63% from the field and 67% from beyond the arc.
Second half details
The third quarter began with a Taylor Smith nothing but net jump-shot and the Panthers did not look back. LC was playing as a team, using communication and not forcing bad shots which led to the Panthers dominating the solid visiting Hawks squad. At the end of the third, LC led 80-38. As expected, the Panthers began to slow the game down and rotate in fresh legs during the fourth quarter. Despite being up by more than forty points, the LC bench was fully invested in the game and were cheering on the teammates. The Panthers would hold on the rest of the way to win 101-50.
Top Panther performances
Zyhia Johnson scored a team-high 23 points, shooting 54% from the field and 57% beyond the arc. She also had an assist and grabbed a rebound.
Amanda Mclendon added another great performance to her Panther resume. The forward scored 14 points, shooting an incredible 78% from the field. Over the season, the sophomore has shot a steady 53% from the field and averaged 8.5 rebounds a game. Today she grabbed a team-high six rebounds, had two steals and two blocks.
Next game details
The Panthers face Belhaven at home this Wednesday (Jan. 24), at 5:00 p.m. Following this game, the men's team is set to take on the Blazers at 7:00 p.m.
