The summer league schedule is in full swing for Panther women’s hoops.
After hosting their first round of offseason intersquad scrimmages the week before, on June 18 Franklin’s varsity and JV teams took the court once again. Versus several WNC and North Georgia opponents, several different Panthers from both squads gave opponents fits, showing off the depth of their rosters for 2024.
Sports Editor’s Note: Because JV and varsity scrimmages were played simultaneously at both Mountain View Intermediate and East Franklin Elementary, and because both schedules overlapped with our Tuesday deadline, I was only able to cover part of the day’s action.
JV
After their first of three scrimmages throughout the day versus Swain, later in the morning the JV Panthers hosted Towns County, Georgia. Despite extremely physical defense from the Indians throughout, Brooks’ team dominated the first 20-minute half, getting five points, two assists and a steal from sophomore point guard Rylee Green. Freshman Finley Moffitt added five points of her own to end the half with a commanding 34-10 lead.
Both defenses tightened up considerably in the second, yielding a block from Moffitt and two steals apiece from Green and freshman Aubrey Newsome. While they themselves were held in check for long stretches, Franklin’s offense outscored Towns 15-6.
In their last scrimmage of the day the Panthers hosted Pisgah in a rematch of last year’s Mountain Seven Conference title game, which Franklin won 23-10. Both teams looked evenly matched in the early goings, engaging in another defensive struggle through the opening minutes. Eventually the Panthers started to pull away, outscoring the Black Bears 21-9 behind six points from Green and four from Moffitt.
Unlike other scrimmages this month, officials did not reset the scoreboard for the second half, in which Pisgah cut Franklin’s lead to 27-21. After talking things over in a timeout the Panthers regrouped however, getting a 3-pointer and a steal from sophomore guard Lass Ward to end the scrimmage up 42-27.
Varsity
Playing at MVI while crews repaired water lines at Franklin High School, the varsity Panthers opened the day’s action versus Highlands. While officials did not keep score between the in-county rivals, Franklin’s defense harassed the Highlanders throughout the first half, getting steals from several different Panthers led by Cali Queen and Audrey Pressley. Junior forward Meliah Mason controlled the paint in the final minutes, racking up four quick points and multiple rebounds.
Franklin continued besting Highlands in the second, outscoring their rivals on offense and racking up several steals on defense. Senior Jozy Dehart racked up two steals and one assist, while promising freshman Bristol Brooks added a steal, an assist and two points.
After locking horns with Towns County two hours later, Franklin took on Swain in the last scrimmage of the day. There Queen harassed the Maroon Devils on both ends, racking up three steals and two assists in the first half. Pressley added an assist, a steal and a basket to end the period up 27-8.
Officials did not reset the scoreboard for the second half, in which Franklin continued to run up their tally. Senior McKenna Plemmons racked up eight points and a steal to go along with six points, four steals and one assist from Queen. Franklin ended the scrimmage up 66-19.