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Still perfect
By Brent Wilburn
The Paris News
Published November 24, 2009
Free-throw shooting might not yet be the North Lamar Pantherettes’ forte, but they sank them when it counted most on Monday night.
They converted six free throws out of eight attempts during overtime, as they claimed a 55-51 victory over the persistent Clarksville Lady Tigers at Panther Gym.
North Lamar (4-0) only connected on 17 of 39 attempts for the entire game, but the free throws by Shelby Wilson and Chelsea Jordan, and a fast break layup by Nichole Perry gave the squad the extra push it needed to pick up the win.
“We had a lot of turnovers in the second half that allowed them to get back in the game,” North Lamar head coach Sheila Daughtrey said. “Toward the end, the guards stepped up and made some big layups and big free throws.”
Clarksville (0-4) forced the overtime period by overcoming a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter. The Lady Tigers chipped away at the Pantherettes’ lead throughout the final frame by taking advantage of turnovers and scoring plenty of second-chance points.
They finally tied the game with a 3-pointer from the corner by Dominique Doolittle with 15 seconds remaining. That was the culmination of a deficit the team faced the entire game, as the only other time the game had been tied until that point was at 3-all early in the first quarter.
Wilson scored the first basket of the overtime period for North Lamar on a short jumper. She went on to score seven of the team’s 10 points in the extra time and was the Pantherettes’ leading scorer with 21 points.
The hot shooting in the final minutes made up for the mistakes that allowed Clarksville to have an opportunity to get back in the game.
“We got careless, lost focus and let the pressure get to us,” Daughtrey said. “It’s like you become unable to see the floor and it causes you to make some poor decisions at times.”
Doolittle, Takela Taylor, Michelle Warnell and Shawnzell O’Neal combined to lead the Clarksville rally in the fourth quarter that pushed the game to overtime.
North Lamar gained its lead early in the game on a 14-2 run, which saw buckets scored by Wilson, Carley Conley, Rayn House and Avery Drennen.
Conley was North Lamar’s second-leading scorer with 10 points and House added eight.
Doolittle was the game’s top scorer with 25 points. Taylor chipped in with 14 points.
Monday’s win was No. 498 in Daughtrey’s career.
North Lamar is set to host Gunter at 6:30 p.m. today, while Clarksville is scheduled to travel to face Cooper at 6:30 p.m. today.
• North Lamar’s junior varsity defeated Clarksville, 64-10. Lora Arnold led North Lamar with 18 points. Addy Johnson and Morgan Bryant added 13.
Clarksville 5 6 14 20 6 — 51
North Lamar 11 10 18 6 10 — 55
Clarksville (0-4): Dominique Doolittle 25, Takela Taylor 14, Shawnzell O’Neal 6, Chakeitha Ramirez 2, Betty Harris 2, Michelle Warnell 2. Threes 1 (Doolittle). FT 8-17. Fouls 27.
North Lamar (4-0): Shelby Wilson 21, Carley Conley 10, Rayn House 8, Nichole Perry 5, Snowy White 4, Chelsea Jordan 3, Avery Drennen 2, Paige Payne 1, Rudy Johnson 1. FT 17-39. Threes 0. Fouls 17.
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