By Brad Greer
Some say free throw shooting has become somewhat of a lost art in the game of basketball, but it became the difference between winning and losing for the South Panola Lady Tigers last Friday against Hernando.

The Tigers connected on 13-of-21 shots from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter including seven in a row from leading scorer Ty’Raveen Collins to help guide South Panola to a 52-48 victory. South Panola followed the win with a narrow 47-45 loss at Grenada Tuesday to fall to 1-2 in Region 2-6A play and 14-4 overall.

Collins and Jasmine Wright combined for 37 points to help overcome a seven minute field goal drought and a 34-point performance from Hernando’s Aaliyaha Thornton to come away with the win.

Wright sank 8-of-11 free throws in the game to finish  with 16 points while Collins finished 7-of-10 from the line and 21 points. The Lady Tigers ended with 18-of-29 in the free throw category, despite shooting just 34 percent from the floor.

“Tonight was just a test of wills. Jasmine and Ty’Raveen were just going to make sure we did not lose this game,” said South Panola head coach Jemmye Ann Helms. “We jumped out to a lead there in the first quarter but went cold and scored only four points in the second and third quarter. We were getting good looks at the basket but they just were not falling.

  “The one thing I was most proud of tonight is we did not hang our heads after we got down like we did against Tupelo. We dug deep and found a way to win. Jasmine rolled her ankle at Tupelo and then tweaks it again tonight, but fought though it and hit some key shots in the end,” added Helms.

Collins’ key steal and lay up with 2:01 remaining in the fourth quarter gave the Lady Tigers their first lead since the first quarter at 43-42. The senior then knocked down five straight free throws to expand the lead to 48-42 before Thornton’s leaner in the paint cut the margin to 50-48 with 18 seconds remaining.

  Following a missed three-pointer from Thornton with 10 seconds left, Wright and Shanterrica Hunt both hit the front ends of a one-and-one free throw opportunity to seal the victory.
Alexis Smith garnered seven points for the Lady Tigers while Hunt added four and Chloe Morgan finished with two points.

Hernando (boys)- 47
South Panola-42
While the Lady Tigers found success at the free throw line, the same could not have been said for their varsity counterparts as the Tigers connected on 8-of-19 shooting while dropping their seventh straight game.

South Panola (2-12; 0-3) led the entire game until Hernando knotted the score at 40 with 2:43 remaining. Hernando then took the their first lead at 43-40 with two minutes left to play. Kenon Johnson sank two free throws and got South Panola within one at 43-42, but that was as close as the Tigers could get as on their final possession they turned the ball over.

South Panola led 14-6 after one quarter of play as Cameron Brown connected on his first three field goals. Brown led the Tigers in scoring with 13 points to go along with six steals and five rebounds. The Tigers extended their lead to 27-17 at intermission but were held to two field goals in the third quarter but still managed a 37-30 lead after three quarters.

Bryson Robinson, Howard Smothers and Johnson all chipped in with five points for South Panola. Jordan Matthews followed with four while Terry Williams finished with three points. Andre Gleaton rounded out the scoring with two points.

In junior varsity action, South Panola split their games as the boys won 37-27 while the girls fell 23-16 to Hernando.

Robert Hentz led the Junior High Tigers with nine points while Montray Blackburn added six. Marquez Wright, Ketrell Key and Shaquille Jackson registered four points. Cortavious Campbell and Justin Perry provided two points. Terriance Jackson tallied one point.

Ty’Quera Victom led the Lady Tigers with five points. Alexis Fondren and Breanna Johnson contributed with three each. Michala Gross and Tracie Benson each supplied two points and Mia Bass added one point.

South Panola hosts Tupelo tonight starting a 5 p.m.