Girls Basketball: Panthers Fall to Knights In Double Overtime

Niccole Brown scored 17 points in a balanced Annapolis offense as the Lady Panthers took homestanding North County into double overtime before falling, 78-74 on Feb 1.

Trailing by 10 points early in the fourth quarter, the tenacious Lady Panthers refused to quit and battled back to take a 57-54 lead on a three-point Allysha McFarland basket with 15 seconds remaining in the contest. Defending in the final seconds, Annapolis surrendered a layup and a game-tying free throw to North County's Ayonche' Clash, sending the game into its first overtime period. 

In the first overtime, both teams traded baskets, with Annapolis' Maya Butler tying the game again with 22 seconds left. The second extra period was entirely different, as North County scored the first five points, with Annapolis taking the next five, and then the Lady Knights matched the sequence by scoring the following five points to take the overtime down to 40 seconds. The two teams then alternated between quick Annapolis baskets and clutch North County free throws until the contest finally came to a close. 

For the Lady Panthers, Kelly Rinard scored 16 points, Ter'ri Bennett dropped in 13, McFarland added 12 and Butler contributed 10 in the disappointing loss. Denver Clyde, who came into the game averaging 22 points a game, scored 26 in the win, while Brielle Bradford added 24 and Clash contributed 23 for North County.

Early in the game, an energized Annapolis squad worked hard around the basket to keep the game close. Only the dominating performances of Clyde and Clash in those first two quarters kept the Lady Knights ahead of the Lady Panthers. In the third quarter, North County played with more purpose, and began to put some distance between themselves and Annapolis.

“I’m so proud of my kids,”  North County Head Coach Al Pindell said. “The way they hung in there against adversity—they defended their turf tonight.”