By DAVE DOMESCIK | Staff Writer

PELHAM – The Pelham Panthers defeated the Spain Park Jaguars by a score of 41-26 on Tuesday, Jan. 14 thanks to the dynamic combination of Tee King and Hannah Bankston.

Bankston and King combined for 27 of Pelham’s 41 points. King finished with 15 points, while Bankston finished with 12.

Despite stellar shooting from Tori Flournoy, who hit three 3-pointers for a nine-point total for the game, Spain Park could not overcome the height advantage Hannah Bankston provided for the Panthers in the paint.

The game began with great defense from both teams. The Jags pressured Pelham heavily on the perimeter, forcing multiple stops and not letting any Panthers get easy drives to the lane.

Not to be outdone was Pelham’s defense, which forced Spain Park to take contested long-range shots. Tee King finally opened the scoring after getting fouled after a rebound and converting two free throws from the charity stripe.

The Panthers began to get into a groove after King’s free throws, opening the game on a 10-0 run and forcing the Jags to call an early timeout with 3:18 left in the game.

After some back-and-forth scoring, Pelham headed to the second quarter with a 12-6 lead.

The second quarter saw defensive trends emerge for both teams. The Panthers fielded a traditional 2-3 zone, forcing Spain Park to shoot 3-pointers. However, the Jags had minimal success throughout the game from downtown.

On the other end, Spain Park used pressure up top to force Pelham to play through its bigs. This left Hannah Bankston with plenty of open looks, but the Panthers’ guards failed to find her on multiple possessions.

Both defenses stepped up in the second period, as Pelham headed to halftime with an 18-12 lead.

The third quarter saw Pelham outscore Spain Park 18-3, as the King-to-Bankston connection worked wonders for the Panther offense.

King was able to feed Bankston in the post with relative ease, creating high-percentage looks that Bankston often converted. Bankston was a presence on the boards all night, limiting second-chance points for the Jags and creating breakaways for Pelham.

The start of the fourth saw Spain Park try to claw back from a 36-15 deficit, but Pelham continued to play stellar defense and cruised to a 41-26 victory.

Up next for the Panthers is another home game, this time against the visiting Chelsea Hornets on Friday, Jan. 17 at 6 p.m. The Jags, meanwhile, will travel to Helena to face the Huskies that same evening at 5:30 p.m.