The Huntsville Hornets opened a tight game, wearing down the Kingwood Park Lady Panthers 69 -54 Friday night at the Campbell Center.
Junior forward Ronisha Major led all scorers with 26 points. She out hustled the Panthers inside and outside nearly all night, having her way with short jumpers, lay ups and block shots. “She had a breakout game just when we needed,” said Huntsville Coach Jay Oliphant.
The up and down game worked out in the Hornets favor as they took a 4 point advantage into halftime, 33-29 just after the Panthers’ Murphy nail a deep three at the buzzer.
With the win, The Lady Hornets (23-7) move on to the regional quarterfinals in class 4A, region III playoffs to meet the winner of Buda Hays or Bmt Central next week.
Major was big in the second half answering the Panthers each time they went on a run, weather it was from the free throw line or driving the lane. “I knew I had to play well because I played bad in the last game,” said Huntsville Junior Forward, Major.
Sophomore guard Ceidra Coleman and senior guard Shonecra James were also in double figures with 10 and 12 points for the Hornets. Kristi Murphy and Larla Brown pace the Panthers with 16 and 10 points for Kingwood.
Perry’s three pointer got things started for Huntsville but soon after Kingwood Park ran off 8 unanswered points to take a five point lead, 8-3.
Back came the Hornets to close out the first quarter with a 15-14 advantage.
Kingwood Park stayed within striking distance in the second quarter but could never get over the hump. Frustrating mistakes and costly turnovers halted The Panthers offensive production. There were six occasions ware Kingwood Park was called for traveling.
In the fourth quarter is when The Panthers began to wear down, falling back by as many as 13 points.
