The Bartlett Girls basketball team keeps rolling through the district, winning another game on the road at Houston High on Friday, Jan. 27, by a score of 69-37.
The next night, though, the Lady Panthers lost to Hoover High (Ala.) 65-40 in the Robertson’s Sportswear Lady Classic in Booneville, Mississippi.
Against Houston the Lady Panthers got off to a slow start, trailing 10-7 at the end of the first period after being up 7-5 early on.
The Lady Mustangs (18-7, 6-3) used a 2-3 zone to keep Bartlett from dumping it inside to their taller players, and the second quarter was a seesaw battle that saw several lead changes.
Bartlett led 18-15 when senior Mallory Collier hit a 3-point shot with 1:25 left in the half to give Bartlett a 21-15 lead. Senior guard Tya Johnson followed with another 3 soon after that and then senior Nevaeh Scott dished a beautiful pass to Zoey Rixter for a layup just as time expired to give the Lady Panthers a 26-17 lead at the half.
Bartlett (21-7, 5-1) outscored the Lady Mustangs 10-2 to close out the half.
Scott started the third quarter off with a bang, hitting back-to-back outside shots. Junior guard Shamari Hamlett followed with a 3 and the Lady Panthers were off to the races.
When freshman Faye Williams hit a shot and completed a traditional 3-point play from the free-throw line, Bartlett was up 41-21 with 2:51 on the clock. Bartlett had a 48-25 cushion when third quarter ended.
The final margin was 69-37 as Hamlett hit another 3 at the buzzer.
“Once we got the game going up and down, we were pretty good,” Bartlett Head Coach Wes Shappley said.
The Lady Panthers amped up the pressure in the second half, leading to 10 steals and getting the pace of the game up where Bartlett likes it.
“It’s a 32-minute game. We play for 32 full minutes. It’s not about what happens in the first quarter or second quarter,” Shappley said.
Collier led the Lady Panthers with 17 points and 8 rebounds. Hamlett and Scott each had 13 points and they each hit three 3-pointers. Scott recorded a double-double, getting 10 assists as well, and she had 6 rebounds and 2 steals. Hamlett added 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 steals. Junior Carrington Jones had 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals along with 4 points.
Bartlett held Houston to just 29 percent shooting from the field and the Lady Mustangs went 2-for-18 (11 percent) from 3-point range.
Junior Ann Lee Avery led the Lady Mustangs with 21 points. Senior Teniya Morant had 7 points, 6 rebounds and a steal for Houston.
Against national powerhouse Hoover (28-1) on Jan. 28, the Lady Panthers hung tough until the later stages of the game.
The game was tied at 25 in the second quarter and the Lady Buccaneers held just a 35-28 advantage into the third quarter but began to pull away in the fourth period.
Hoover outrebounded Bartlett 28-20 and got 11 steals to Bartlett’s 5. The Lady Panthers shot 40 percent from the field and Hoover shot 45 percent.
Bartlett’s scheduled game at Cordova Tuesday evening was postponed due to weather conditions.
Bartlett is 5-1 in District 15 4A games. Arlington stands at 7-1 in the district, its only loss coming at Houston, which is 6-3 in district play after the loss to Bartlett.
The Lady Panthers will travel Friday, Feb. 3, to play at Arlington (16-6). Tip-off is at 6 p.m.
