By Myra Bean
“We will see them again,” said North Panola head basketball coach Chris Yancy.

He was referring to a 68-65 loss to Holly Springs December 15. The Cougars were held to three points in the second quarter and were down 36-13 at halftime, but almost made a comeback.
The Cougars travel to Holly Springs for this district matchup tonight at 6 p.m.

The Cougars (9-10 overall, 5-2 district) will try to topple the 10-8, 5-0 first place Hawks.
North Panola boys are coming off back-to-back district wins over Palmer last Friday and Charleston Tuesday.

North Panola is improving as the season progresses with only three remaining district games this season, including tonight’s contest.

North Panola jumped out to an 8-0 lead against Palmer in the first quarter last Friday and then to a 14-point lead, 17-3, with two minutes remaining.

Palmer found its legs in the second quarter, but the Cougars still led 38-22 at halftime. The Cougars depended mostly on its bench in the first half for the scoring.

Starter Jordan Dandridge scored six points and off the bench, Demetric Moore was five of six from the free throw line.

Palmer scored more points in the third quarter, 23, than it did the whole first quarter to cut the lead going into the final quarter, 62-45. North Panola, however, outscored them by one and both teams scored 17 points in the final quarter.

Kier Washington was the leading Cougar scorer with 18 points, followed by Vennis Mills and Dandridge with 12 points each.

Tuesday, the Cougars were on a roll as they rolled over Charleston in a district rematch, 76-35. January 6, Charleston defeated the Cougar 59-56, but it was like a totally different team Tuesday night as the Cougars led 44-22 at halftime.

Cougar Robert Oliver scored 15 of his 17 points in the first half.

North Panola scored 32 points in the second half, but Charleston only scored 13 points in the third quarter. They scored no points in the fourth quarter.

Also scoring in double figures was Demetric Porter with four three-pointers for 12 points. Jermarcus Jones scored 10 points for the Cougars.

Other Cougar scorers include Demetric Moore, nine points; Washington, eight points; Vennis Mills and Bremarkwon Bobo, six points each; Jarvis Renix, three points; Ankeyvias Harris, two points; and Dandridge, one point.

NP Lady Cougars
The North Panola Lady Cougars (12-8 overall, 5-2 district) also have a bone to pick with the Hawks who defeated them the first time around, 46-41. North Panola ladies led most of that game, but lost the lead in the last minute.

Now, North Panola is third in the district behind Independence and Holly Springs, and can move to second place if they win by six tonight, according to head coach Daphne Thomas.

The Lady Cougars are riding a four-game win streak after a 72-46 win over Palmer last Friday and a 42-37 win over Charleston Tuesday. The Lady Cougars’ last loss was to Charleston on the road January 6.

Against Palmer senior O’Nesha Hunt scored a career high 35 points and had nine rebounds.
Also scoring in double figures were LaErica Spann with 12 points and Kiana Willingham with 10 points.

North Panola led 40-30 at halftime, but outscored Palmer 32-16 in the second half. Palmer was held to only two free throws in the fourth quarter.

It was another nailbiter against Charleston Tuesday night.

Charleston outscored North Panola 12-8 in the first quarter, but North Panola reversed that in the second quarter outscoring Charleston 12-9. Charleston took a one-point, 21-20, lead into halftime.

Charleston had the advantage going into the fourth quarter with a 31-26 lead, but the Lady Cougars turned up the fire. They outscored Charleston 16-6 to take the lead and the win.
A three-pointer and a field goal by Shaquanta Pettis and two field goals by Denisha Montgomery, spearheaded the fourth quarter comeback. Spann, Willingham and Kitrya Webb contributed two points each in the final quarter.

Hunt was the game’s high scorer with 15 points. Other Lady Cougar scorers include Pettis, nine points; Webb, eight points; Montgomery and Willingham, four points each; and Spann, two points.