Last Saturday, the Whitewater Lady Wildcats came to the Panther Pit to face off against the Starr’s Mill varsity girls’ basketball team. The Lady Panthers, fresh off a hard-fought 44-41 win against cross-town rival McIntosh, defeated Whitewater 61-55 in what was an extremely intense and exciting contest.

“After last night, we were tired already,” head coach Emily Sweeney said. “I told [the girls] that they would have to keep battling.”

Freshman Jaclyn Hester led Starr’s Mill in scoring with 20 points, also adding two blocks. Junior Alice Anne Hudson led the Panthers in steals with four while putting up 16 points.

Both teams started the first quarter slowly, neither team scoring until Hudson hit a three about two minutes in. After some good play on the defensive end, the Lady Panthers were able to score four points in a row courtesy of a layup and two free throws by junior Ryanne King. Another layup by senior Alyssa Angelo would be all the scoring Starr’s Mill would do in the first quarter. Although the Panthers only scored nine points, they were able to hold the Lady Wildcats to just eight points in the quarter.

The second quarter was just as slow as the first, but Starr’s Mill picked up the intensity on the defensive end, forcing bad shots and turnovers. Despite the slow pace, Hester was able to gain some momentum before the end of the half, scoring five points off of two free throws and a three. Junior Ashtyn Lally added three points, and senior SK Kirby contributed one point off of a free throw. The Lady Panthers scored another nine points while keeping the Wildcats to eight points, and went into halftime with a 18-16 lead.

“We just fought through it the whole time,” Hester said. “We did what we needed to do.”

Whitewater forced Starr’s Mill to pick up the pace in the third quarter. The entire team responded well, moving the ball on offense and playing physically on defense. Angelo grabbed two steals in the period, and Hester scored seven of the Panthers’ 13 points in the quarter. King added four points in the post and Lally added two. Even though Starr’s Mill was slightly outscored in the third, they managed to hold on to a 31-30 lead going into the fourth quarter.

The fourth quarter opened with Hudson scoring eight points in a row for the Lady Panthers, and an uncontested layup by Hester forced the Wildcats to call timeout. After the break in play, Starr’s Mill did not let off the gas, with Hester scoring on another easy layup and getting a block on the defensive end. However, the Lady Panthers’ momentum would be halted when Angelo, their best perimeter defender, went down with an ankle injury.

Whitewater took advantage of the situation, going on a run that gave them a three-point lead with seconds left. After a series of timeouts, the Panthers got the ball at half court to run a final play. The Lady Wildcats played great defense, breaking up the play, but a miracle heave by Lally banked in at the buzzer, tying the game at 46 points a piece, forcing overtime.

“I knew I had to get the ball from the post,” Lally said. “There were only seconds left, so I just threw it up.”

The first overtime period was slow but intense. Both teams played physically, especially on the defensive end. Whitewater scored two points to give them the lead, but a layup by Hester tied the game up again. After calling a timeout, the Lady Wildcats attempted to make a play for the win, but the Panthers prevented them from scoring, forcing another overtime period.

Starr’s Mill pulled away in double overtime. Lally got the run started with a steal and three, and the Panthers’ stifling defense prevented the Wildcats from making any progress on offense. This forced Whitewater to foul and hope for misses at the free throw line. Starr’s Mill continued to play great defense, forcing turnovers and bad shots, only allowing seven points in the period. On offense, free throws by Hester, Hudson, and Lally, iced the game, giving the Lady Panthers a 61-55 win.

“They’re just free throws,” Hester said. “Even though it’s a crucial time in the game, you have to focus and knock them down.”

With the win, the Panthers improved their overall record to 14-6 and their region record to 7-1, tying with Griffin for first place. The team kept the winning streak alive last night with another close win at Jonesboro, 46-44.

The Lady Panthers play again on Jan. 25 at home against another region opponent, the Fayette County Tigers. Starr’s Mill defeated the Tigers 51-33 in their last matchup on Jan. 8. Tip-off is at 7 p.m.