Girls reach 7-0, eye conference tourney
Will Woolever
sports@thefranklinpress.com
After navigating the first half of the season to a perfect 5-0 record, the Lady Panthers returned for two games in the Panther Den to send 2021 into the home stretch. In games against the Brevard Blue Devils and the East Henderson Eagles, the Panthers continued their Mountain Six barnstorming tour with two more convincing wins.
On Wednesday, Feb. 3, Brevard paid a visit to Macon County for a rematch of the Panthers’ season-opening win. The Panthers wasted little time getting ahead of the Devils, jumping out to an early 6-0 lead behind two baskets and a steal from Kandice Parker. Junior Sydney Williams continued her trend of strong first quarters throughout the season, bullying Brevard under the basket with a block, a pass deflection, two buckets, and a free throw in the opening minutes. The Panthers ended the period up 13-4.
Brevard came out swinging in the second quarter, posting a field goal and drawing multiple fouls on offense to come within five at 13-8. Mountain Six Conference steal leader Tori Ensley quickly caught fire however, posting a whopping 14 points, including four off steals, to eventually put Franklin up 30-14. The Panthers doubled up Brevard’s score after Ensley’s outburst, entering the locker room up 32-16.
Ensley continued her solid defense into the second half, posting a steal and nearly getting her hands on two more in the opening minutes. This continued a trend from the game’s first half and throughout the season by the Panthers, with head coach Scott Hartbarger’s squad quickly rotating on defense and anticipating enemy passes. The game turned into a bump-and-grind contest in the period, with both teams facing stiff opposition while driving to the basket. Franklin ended the period up 40-21.
The game remained a physical one into the fourth, as plenty of fouls and turnovers threw sand into the game’s gearbox. Brevard posted a few nice buckets in spite of this, but had too high a hill to climb, eventually falling to the Panthers 50-32. After adding to their perfect record with the squad’s seventh-straight win, Hartbarger said he was happy with the Panthers’ defense against the Devils.
“We got out early in our 32-trap [half-court trap defense],” said Hartbarger. “They turned the ball over and we were able to get up on them and take care of business and get the ‘W’.”
After dispatching the Lady Blue Devils, the Panthers returned to Tom Raby Court two days later for a Senior Night matchup with East Henderson. With an all-senior lineup of Parker, Nevaeh Tran, Kyndell Burns, Canaan Drake, and Sydney Chapman on the floor for coach Hartbarger, the week’s second game started similarly to the first. The Panthers jumped out to a quick 11-0 lead led by six points from Drake, stifling East Henderson on defense and moving the ball for open looks at the other end. Franklin’s seniors stayed on the floor for the quarter’s duration, getting two long two-pointers from Chapman and a three from Tran to end the period up 18-2.
Franklin’s underclassmen relieved their seniors in the second quarter, treating their teammates to a show after the night’s honorees took care of the first eight minutes. Ensley opened the Panthers’s scoring in the quarter, adding to her conference-leading mark in steals with a turnover and transition bucket. After the mask timeout Parker had a nice sequence for the Panthers, tipping a rebound to Drake and converting a cross-court assist from Tran on back-to-back possessions to put the Panthers up 30-9. The Panthers went to the locker room up 35-9.
Drake continued her solid game into the second half, recording the first two field goals for Franklin to put the Panthers up 39-12. The Panthers continued their barrage after the mask timeout, getting three nice drives to the rim from Roslynn McCollum including two on back-to-back possessions. McCollum’s third bucket put Franklin up 49-14 as the period expired.
The Panthers continued bullying the Eagles in the fourth, stifling East’s offense with both size and player-to-player defense. One by one, Hartbarger honored each senior throughout the quarter by sending a substitute to replace them, with each senior receiving a rousing ovation from the crowd as they took their seats. Franklin coasted to victory by a score of 66-19. After the game Hartbarger said he was glad his seniors got a proper send-off in their final home game in the Panther Den.
“It’s been a great day,” said Hartbarger. “The girls came together, and we had a pre-game meal at Fat Buddies, and then we came out tonight and started our seniors. We played our man-to-man instead of our half-court trap, and they did an excellent job in our man-to-man. After the first quarter we went back to our regular starters and just stayed man-to-man. They did an incredible job, we shot the ball very well, we were very unselfish offensively, and we moved the ball well.”
Boys improve to 4-3, battle for postseason
Will Woolever
sports@thefranklinpress.com
After falling to the Hendersonville Bearcats to move to 2-3 on the season, Franklin boys basketball returned to the Panther Den for two games to start the month of February. In matchups against the Brevard Blue Devils and the East Henderson Eagles, the Panthers kicked off the second half of their season with big wins in front of their home crowd.
The Feb. 3 game against Brevard was a happy one for the Panthers, as longtime head coach Doug Plemmons returned to Franklin’s bench after early-season health issues. Plemmons’ return seemed to galvanize his men in the early goings, as junior forward Trey Penland stole a Brevard pass, turned it into a bucket in transition, and added a free throw on the game’s first possession. The Panthers continued scoring in the early minutes, led by two three-pointers by junior Griffin Green to put the Panthers up 11-6. The Panthers locked the Devils down on defense throughout the quarter, adding to their advantage in part with five points from senior Chad Wilson to end the period up 24-9.
The Blue Devils gained some traction to begin the second, waking up their offense and converting some bonus free throws after Franklin got into early foul trouble. After Brevard came within 10 down just 25-15, Griffin Green heated up again for the Panthers, recording a steal and seven points including a big dunk in transition that brought the Panther Den to its feet. Griffin Green’s jam gave the Panthers a shot in the arm for the half’s remainder, getting two buckets from Bradley Stiles to end the half up 38-23.
Franklin came out of the locker room with some solid defense to begin the second half, forcing Brevard to settle for several tough shots and getting five points from Green to start the quarter. After the mask timeout the Panthers continued their solid defense, frustrating Brevard with quick rotations and getting hands in shooters’ faces. Franklin ended the period up 54-29.
The Panthers continued scoring into the fourth, highlighted by a steal and transition basket by Eli Gilbert and a nifty Dawson Green layup off a Keagan Pollock block. With the Panthers up 30 Franklin’s bench got some extended playing time in the period, gaining experience that could prove valuable later in the season. The Panthers ended regulation up 67-40. The win was a critical one for the Panthers, who against the 4-4 Blue Devils had been fighting for the fourth and final spot in the Mountain Six Conference tournament. After the game Plemmons said the Panthers’ defense had helped create easy baskets in transition.
“I thought our pressure was the difference in the game,” he said. “Our pressure bothered them, and our defense turned into offense. A lot of them were ‘Steal, pitch ahead, and finish at the basket’, and a lot of layups. Our pressure really bothered them, and it got us going offensively.”
After dispatching Brevard, the Panthers returned to the Panther Den Feb. 5 for the first of two back-to-back games with the 3-5 East Henderson Eagles. Following the Panthers’ Senior Night festivities, in which seniors Dexter Jennings, Eli Gilbert, Seth Crupi, Chad Wilson, and Bryce Rogers were recognized in the final home game of their high school careers, Franklin took the court against a 3-5 Eagles team.
With the five seniors each on the court to start the game, a lineup which luckily featured a center, two forwards, and two guards, the game started close for the Panthers. After a nice floater from Crupi and a heads-up assist from Gilbert to Rogers helped put the Panthers up 6-0, East Henderson returned the favor with three baskets of their own to make it 7-6. A minute later, the Panthers received a big momentum boost when Penland grabbed a defensive rebound and saw Griffin Green streaking up the court all alone. The two connected on a cross-court pass and Green threw down his second dunk in as many games, causing the Panther Den to erupt. Franklin ended the period up 11-9.
Both teams hung tough in the second, with East patiently probing a strong Panther defense. The Panthers got a nice play when Wilson stole a Henderson pass for a transition basket, but a couple nice plays beyond the three-point arc kept the Eagles in a slim lead. With the Panthers down 23-17 forward Miles McClure turned in two great plays for the Panthers, putting back a Griffin Green miss in heavy traffic and adding a three-pointer on the next possession. The teams ended the half knotted up at 25.
The Panthers started fast in the third, getting big three-pointers from Pollock and Griffin Green to put the Panthers up 31-25. After the mask timeout the game turned into a knock-down, drag-out contest, with both teams getting physical under the basket. Unbeknownst to East, this type of game favored Franklin, with the Panthers playing stifling man-to-man defense throughout the period. This type of game also favored Franklin’s big forwards in McClure and Griffin Green, who combined on the Panthers’ final three baskets of the period. Franklin ended the third up 37-31.
Griffin Green continued his solid game into the fourth, hitting a big corner three to put the Panthers up 40-31 and force an East Henderson timeout. Miles McClure likewise continued his solid night, bullying East’s frontcourt with his size and finishing for two baskets of his own. Despite determined Eagles defense, the Panthers maintained their lead throughout the quarter, continuing their own rock-solid defense and entering the final three minutes up 44-37. With East Henderson down but still hanging on, Green and McClure delivered the final blow, draining three-pointers to cap their excellent nights and put the Panthers up for good. Franklin went on to win 56-40. After the game Plemmons said the Panthers’ defense had been key in the Senior Night win.
“Defensively, I thought we did a really good job in the second half other than the fouls,” said Plemmons. “I think they only scored three buckets from the field in the whole second half, which means we clamped them down pretty good on defense with our man-to-man. Offensively, we made extra passes and found Miles inside, which we’ve been working hard on. I felt like we were getting such good shots in the first half and missing them that if we could get those same shots in the second half, I felt pretty confident we could make them.”