By JASON KING
Leader sportswriter
The Cabot Lady Panthers improved their 7A-Central Conference record to 9-3 with a 64-49 home win over Pine Bluff on Friday. The Lady Panthers took control of the game in the opening quarter and never looked back, completing a season sweep on the Lady Zebras. “I was really proud of our effort,” Cabot coach Carla Crowder said. “We played well as a team, and we were able to come away with a lot of rebounds that helped us out down the stretch.”
The underclassmen led the way in the game. Juniors Rachel Glover and Lauren Walker did the bulk of Cabot’s scoring, with sophomore post Shelby Ashcraft leading the way for the Lady Panthers by scoring 15 points and pulling down 13 rebounds. The Lady Panthers took a 17-13 lead at the end of the first quarter, and stretched the advantage to double digits by the intermission at 33-23.
The Lady Zebras stayed fairly even with Cabot in the second half, but by that time, the Lady Panthers had enough of a cushion that they were able to substitute frequently, keeping fresh legs on the court to maintain their advantage. Cabot was able to tack on a few more points to its advantage in the final moments of the third quarter to take a 49-36 lead heading into the final quarter.
Ashcraft’s 15 points would lead Cabot, with 13 points and 10 rebounds from Glover and six points and nine rebounds for Walker. Senior Jamie Sterrenberg also finished in double digits with 12 points for the Lady Panthers. The Lady Panthers are now 20-5 overall and remain in second place in the Central standings.
The boys were not as fortunate on Friday, falling to the Zebras 57-53. The Panthers are now 2-11 in the 7A-Central Conference and 9-17 overall. The Cabot teams closed out the conference season last night with road games against Russellville.
