LaFayette, Lanett split second doubleheader
BY DANIEL SCHMIDT
THE LAFAYETTE SUN
LANETT — The Lanett High School girls and LaFayette High School boys basketball teams look primed to host
area tournaments after the Lady Panthers (9-6, 4-0) defeated the Lady Bulldogs (7-13, 3-2) 61-44, and the Bulldogs (18-7, 5-0) took down the Panthers (6-9, 1-3) 61-49 on Jan. 16.
Lady Panthers 61, Lady Bulldogs 44
The circumstances were less than ideal according to Lanett girls head basketball coach Charlie Williams as multiple players were unavailable against their area rival. Yet, even
as their bench sat thin, the Lady Panthers had enough left in the tank to secure the win and place themselves firmly atop 2A Area 6.
“It was big,” Williams said. “We had some
girls out tonight with injuries and being sick, a girl with the flu and the eighth grader stepping in doing what she does best. It was a total team effort. Everybody stepped in and pitched in at some
point in the game. Every time LaFayette made a run, someone else would step up and do something big for us.”
In the absence of some of her teammates, eighth grade guard Serenity Roberts stole the show for Lanett by scoring 21 points. It was an offen- sive explosion that was somewhat unexpected even for the young ball handler herself.
“It feels good as an eighth grader, because it’s like I’m stepping
up, not taking nobody’s [playing time], but as an eighth grader, it’s shock- ing,” Roberts said. “I feel like our team is doing good, even though we’ve got injuries and people being sick. I feel like we did good tonight.”
Despite a grinding
start offensively for both teams, the Lady Panthers and Lady Bulldogs found their rhythm several min- utes into the game. That made for a high intensity and back-and-forth game that saw LaFayette’s Z’niyah Boston battle Roberts and Markala Bailey behind the three- point line as Lanett took an early 21-13 lead.
The Lady Panthers then extended their lead
as Roberts’ hot streak from three-point range continued and poor free-throw shooting from LaFayette dug the hole further. By the time the quarter ended, Lanett had extended their lead to 33-20 behind a physical, dominant presence in the paint that took advantage of the Lady Bulldogs on both ends of the court.
Coming out of half- time, Lanett fully took control of the game as their success during fast-break opportunities countered LaFayette’s focus on winning in
the post. Following a dominant showing, the Lady Panthers carried a commanding 48-28 lead into the fourth quarter.
With the game out of reach, Lanett’s defense continued harassing La- Fayette, which prevented the Lady Bulldogs from cutting too much into the lead. However, LaFayette showed excellent fight in the final minutes as they pushed the ball up the court to finish strong.
In addition to Rob- erts’ 21 points, Mikyla McCants and. Bailey finished with 13 and 10 points, respectively, for the Lady Panthers. Bos- ton led all scorers with
23 points, and Jakalia Cammon contributed six points for the Lady Bulldogs.
Bulldogs 61, Panthers 49
After defeating the Panthers at home on Jan. 2, LaFayette boys head basketball coach Chase Lewis knew his team would be in for a fight as they made the return trip to Lanett. The Bulldogs didn’t disappoint as they dominated the second half en route to finishing first in 2A Area 6.
“Well, it’s always hard to win in this building. They just fight us so hard. And it’s a rival-
ry game with the gym packed. There’s nowhere to sit. I knew they were going to fight us to the very end. And I’m just happy that my guys just stayed composed, even when they made a run and the crowd got loud. We can stay composed and talk about what we need to fix, and go back on the floor and fix it.”
On the court, Amille- on Huguley once again starred for LaFayette as the senior guard led all scorers with 19 points. While his scoring ability played a crucial role, his
defensive presence also helped turn the tide in LaFayette’s favor.
“Well, like all the coaches say, we have one of, if not the best, defen- sive teams we’ve had in the past couple years. So we bring our own energy because we all know that we can sit down and play pretty good defense on anybody that we play,” Huguley said. “And my teammates, they all have confidence in me. They know what I can do.”
Similar to the girls’ game, neither team found an advantage early on in what was a fast-paced, high-flying defensive matchup that saw three combined points through the first five minutes. With every layup and dunk attempt contested, free throws proved to
be the main source of points and the Bulldogs and Panthers were tied 7-7 entering the second quarter.
As the game contin- ued, neither team could spend as much energy on the defensive side of the court, which opened things up and allowed both Lanett and LaFay- ette to go on slight runs. It initially appeared that the Panthers would go
into halftime with the lead, but two late three pointers by the Bulldogs put them up 23-20 as the buzzer sounded.
Coming out of half- time, Huguley picked up where he left off with
a quick three-pointer
less than a minute into the third quarter. That proved to be a preview as LaFayette attacked the basket and extended their lead with a 23-14 run that took advantage of poor free throw shooting and missed layups by the Panthers.
With the Bulldogs up 46-34 entering the fourth quarter, LaFayette drove into the lane at will and scored on possession after possession. While a slight Lanett run applied some pressure on the Bulldogs, it did little to change the final outcome as tempers flared be- tween members of both fanbases.
Huguley led LaFayette with 19 points, and Cam- eron Thomas and Jayden Thomason chipped in 14 and 10 points, respective- ly. Jeramiah McGilberry paced the Panthers with 14 points, and Michael McCants and Fred Broughton each contrib- uted 10 points.
