Panthers, Lady Panthers win at Warren County

PANTHERS

A strong second quarter helped Stone Memorial pick up their second District 6AAA victory Friday at Warren County by a score of 67-57. Three Panthers (Justin Headrick, Brett Newcome and Zach Street) hit double figures in the victory.

It was Warren County who jumped out ahead early, using an 8-0 run early in the first quarter to take a 19-14 lead after the opening period. From there SMHS dialed up the defense, holding the Pioneers to only six second-quarter points while putting up 19 of their own to take a 33-25 lead at halftime. Headrick had nine first-half points, followed by Newcome with eight to lead the Panthers.

Warren County got the SMHS lead down to three points at 37-34 before the Panthers were able to pull away again, going ahead 52-39 after three quarters. The Pioneers were able to get the Stone Memorial lead down to single digits only once in the fourth quarter at 65-57 but it was too late as the Panthers held on to win 67-57, notching their second district win of the season.

Headrick had an efficient night for Stone Memorial, scoring 19 points on 8-11 shooting from two-point range and contributing a three-pointer as well. Newcome finished with 16 points on only nine shots. Street had 10 points as well for Stone Memorial.

The win puts Stone Memorial at 11-10 on the season and 2-2 in District 6AAA play. The Panthers host Rhea County on Tuesday.

Stone Memorial (67): Justin Headrick 19, Brett Newcome 16, Zach Street 10, Kaleb McCoy 7, Jack Eldridge 6, Chris Coudriet 6, Zach Boyd 3

LADY PANTHERS

The Stone Memorial Lady Panthers basketball team picked up their third District 6AAA win on Friday night at Warren County as they defeated the Lady Pioneers 76-60. Alex Eldridge had 20 points in the win for SMHS along with a double-double from freshman Tessa Miller.

The opening quarter saw Stone Memorial take a 19-6 lead before Warren County settled in and chipped away to make it 21-15 after the first eight minutes. Three Lady Panthers (Eldridge, Paige Selby and Keaton Freitag) connected from three-point range in the first.

Quarter number two saw the teams go back and forth as SMHS inched ahead, expanding their lead to 36-26 at halftime.

A quick 8-0 run early in the third quarter from Warren County made things interesting as Stone Memorial held on to a 36-34 lead. SMHS stayed poised and followed with a 10-0 run of their own to get their lead out to 46-34. After three quarters, the Lady Panthers led 50-42.

The final eight minutes were won at the free throw line for Stone Memorial, most notably by Alex Eldridge who made 8-9 free throws with a basket to score 10 points in the frame. As a team, the Lady Panthers were 19-22 from the line on the night. SMHS went on to win by a final score of 76-60.

SMHS was led by 20 points from Eldridge along with big nights from two freshman in Miller and Freitag. Miller scored 17 points and pulled down 13 rebounds for SMHS along with Freitag scoring 14, including four three-pointers. Junior Emily Boyd had 11 points as well for SMHS.

The win improves the Lady Panthers’ record to 16-5 on the season and 3-1 in district action.

Stone Memorial (76): Alex Eldridge 20, Tessa Miller 17, Keaton Freitag 14, Emily Boyd 11, Emma Capps 9, Paige Selby 3, Chloe Roark 2