Pelham girls pull off dominant road win against Leeds

Published 9:44 am Wednesday, November 20, 2019

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Pelham’s girls basketball team picked up a 43-point road win against the Leeds Greenwave on Tuesday, Nov. 19, thanks to four scores in double figures. (For the Reporter/Larry Dancy)

By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Sports Editor

LEEDS – Behind four double figure scorers, the Pelham girls basketball team got off to 2-0 start thanks to a dominant 67-24 road win against the Leeds Greenwave on Tuesday, Nov. 19.

Laci Gogan, Myriah Tate, Emma McKenney and Victoria West all finished in double figures and each had a different impact on the game in the victory.

Pelham got off to a strong start in the opening period thanks to impressive play from Tate, West and McKenney, as each posted at least four points in the quarter. McKenney and West both had four, while Tate had five. Gogan added two in the period, as those four had all 17 points in the frame for Pelham.

Defensively, the Panthers also held the Greenwave in check. Leeds was only able to find one field goal in the quarter, while the rest of the team’s five points came behind a 3-4 mark at the free throw line.

That defensive dominance became a theme throughout the night for Pelham, who didn’t allow more than eight points in any quarter, while the offense was just getting started.

In the second period, the Panthers’ defense held Leeds to five points for the second frame in a row, while the offense put together its most dominant quarter of the night.

A big reason for the success was thanks to Tate and Karma Wynn. Tate added seven more points to bring her total to 12 at the half, while Wynn five of her eight points in the game. Those two helped Pelham total 21 points in the quarter thanks to five others also adding points, as the Panthers took a 38-10 lead into the half.

Coming out of the break, each player continued to play their role perfectly for the Panthers from ball movement, to shooting to rebounding, which led to Pelham’s second 17-point quarter of the game.

The Panthers were only 6-12 from the free throw line in the quarter, but another good balance of seven scorers in the frame, highlighted by five points from Gogan and four from West helped the offense continue to dominate.

In addition to stellar play on that end of the floor, the Panthers had another impressive showing defensively, holding Leeds to just six points to extend their lead even further to 55-16 heading to the final quarter of play.

Comfortably in front, Pelham was able to substitute players in and out more frequently in the final quarter, while also just playing smart basketball.

The panthers got eight points form Gogan in the quarter thanks to two 3-pointers, while Wynn and Tamia Nelson also added two baskets for 12 total points in the quarter.

While Leeds had a game-high eight points in the quarter, it wasn’t nearly enough for the Greenwave in the 67-24 loss.

Pelham was led by Gogan with 15 points thanks to three made 3-pointers and a 2-2 mark at the free throw line. Tate had a strong night as well with 13 points behind five made field goals. McKenney and West both added 10 points in the win.