By JORDON SEMIEN / Special to the Reporter

ALABASTER—Early season win streaks are often coveted by teams, much as being the ones to break that streak is a highly sought after title by their rivals. Sitting at 6-0 in the young season, the Thompson High School Warriors Girls Varsity Basketball team looked to keep their winning ways alive as they played host to bitter rival, the Panthers of Pelham High School. Led by an outstanding performance from Senior Jordan Lenoir, the Warriors turned back the Panthers for a 69-20 win in the first region game for either team.

The Warriors won the opening tip and never looked back in a quickly played first quarter of action. The Panthers were stifled from every angle as open shots were virtually inexistent and shots in the paint were met with contestant hands.

The Warriors went on a scoring tear fueled by their defense’s eight first-quarter steals; the Panthers were physically outmatched from the opening whistle as they managed one point on a made free throw attempt by Toniya Person, setting the score at 20-1 going into the second quarter. The Warriors picked up their pace in through the rest of the night, led by Senior standout Jordan Lenoir and Junior leader Lauren Black. Black finished the first half with three straight three pointers before ending her night in the fourth with 14 points and three rebounds, while Lenoir led all scorers with a game high 20 points and six rebounds, and sophomore Mikayla Hawkins and Junior Brittany Grice combined for 11 boards in the 69-20 win.

After the game, Thompson head coach Josh Golden praised his team’s early season success, but highlighted their upcoming challenges.

“Right now we’re 7-0, but we have our toughest week to date next week,” Golden said. “We play Hazel Green on Monday, who beat us at the buzzer at the regional semifinal last year. Helena on Tuesday, who’s much improved, and then at Spain Park Friday. So it’s good to get a win and we know we’ve got a lot of work to do next week and [we’re] just excited about getting better every day.”