Lady Panthers are Birmingham bound!

By Daniel Schmidt

THE LAFAYETTE SUN

LANETT — The Lanett girl’s basketball team dominated the road to the playoffs, clawing down multiple teams to earn the regional title.

Lanett v. Highland Home

On Monday, Feb. 23, Lanett High School found itself with the opportunity to pay No. 3 Highland Home High School back for an early exit in last year’s regional semifinals.

That revenge was made all the sweeter as the Lady Panthers (18-9) forced 20 first-half turnovers and rode a 24-9 halftime lead to defeat the Lady Flying Squadron (31-5) 40-27 on Feb. 23 in the girls’ 2A central region championship game.

LHS last made the state tournament in 2023, where they lost 44-37 to Cold Springs High School in the semifinals. It is the eighth time the Lady Panthers have reached the state semifinals.

While he acknowledged he will address an undisciplined fourth quarter before the state tournament next week, Lanett girls’ head coach Charlie Williams could hardly contain his pride in his players after the game.

“I’ve got so many young girls on this team,” Williams said. “They don't understand the moment, what's actually going on right now. I told them in the locker room, y'all are going to grow up one day and realize, ‘We got a chance to go play for the state championship. I’m a Lanett kid, so any time I can help my hometown continue to do something great, I’m all for it.”

While the Lady Panthers’ perimeter shooting drew the most “oohs” and “aahs” from the crowd, their first-half full-court press was what powered them to Birmingham. Williams credited that stat line with his program’s willingness to schedule much larger schools during the regular season.

“We play Central-Phenix City, Park Crossing, Midfield, Valley, Russell County, Benjamin Russell, Auburn and Opelika,” he said. “A lot of those teams are still playing right now,” Williams said. “We beef up our schedule so we get to this point, it's easy to handle things.”

After an adversity-filled career, tournament most valuable player Nakeriona Heard, who finished with nine points, five rebounds, four assists and seven steals, reflected on her journey up until now.

“This is our first time back in two years,” Heard said. “It just feels great to actually come out here and show what the name across my chest [Lanett] means. It’s a big accomplishment since I missed the Sweet 16 my 10th grade year and was hurt last year, so coming back and being region MVP means a lot to me.”

After a slow start, eighth graders Makenley James and Serenity Roberts got the Lady Panthers going with early three-pointers before their opportunistic defense disrupted the passing lanes. The game’s pace slowed to a crawl after LHS went up 9-5 after the 4:19 mark until a late Heard free throw secured a 10-5 lead.

In response, HHHS switched to a full-court press early in the second quarter, which James unlocked with gorgeous dribbling through the Lady Flying Squadron’s defense and a successful and-one layup. That success then turned into an avalanche as the Lady Panthers went on a 14-4 run to close out the half.

Despite initially racing out of halftime with a 24-9 lead and a quick start, LHS found themselves in a dogfight with a HHHS squad desperate to keep their season going. However, the Lady Panthers recovered by the end of an at-times sloppy and chippy third quarter to go into the fourth quarter up 34-17.

Even with a 17-point lead, LHS found itself in an extremely uncomfortable position by the four-minute mark after the Lady Flying Squadron went on an 8-2 run. In the end, the Lady Panthers did just enough defensively to hold on to an 11-point lead in the final minutes.

James and Heard tied to lead the Lady Panthers with nine points apiece, while Makayla Davis contributed eight points. Zi’myia Scott led all scorers with 13 points for the Lady Flying Squadron, and Anika Rodgers finished with 10 points.

The Lady Panthers will face No. 10 Cold Springs High School (23-10) in the girls’ 2A state tournament semifinals after the Lady Eagles defeated Belgreen High School (24-10) 45-42 in the northwest region championship on Feb. 23.

That game will take place on Monday, March 2 at 3 p.m./6 p.m. at the Legacy Arena in Birmingham, which is located at 1001 N. 19th St.

LHS and CSHS share no common regular-season opponents.

On average, the Lady Panthers score 50.5 points per game and allow 41.8 points per game, while the Lady Eagles score 53.1 points per game and allow 37.9 points per game.

LHS and CSHS enter the state tournament on five-game and six-game winning streaks, respectively.