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By: Brian Smith

Excellent defense and hot shooting helped the Lanett girls basketball team dominate host Glenwood en route to a 54 to 33 victory. The Lady Panthers started the game with a bang.

Lanett went up 11-0 four minutes into the contest. Glenwood’s defense could not keep sharpshooter Armani Langdon in check, as she hit a corner 3-point shot and had a layup early on. Speedy point guard Nakeriona Heard was a problem for Glenwood, too.

She was breaking down Glenwood’s defense and keeping it off balance by penetrating for shots and creating opportunities for her teammates. Another prime factor was Lanett’s defense. It was not until late in the first quarter that the home Gators even made a bucket.

The second quarter did include Glenwood’s press creating havoc and cutting the lead to two as Clara Crisco knocked down a 3-point shot, but the home team’s momentum was short-lived.

Lanett’s defense began creating turnovers of their own with center MaKiah White blocking shots and the overall team defense creating several turnovers. To beat the press, White also found a streaking Langdon for a layup to place the Panthers up 21 to 15 with 3:45 remaining in the first half. 

As Lanett gained confidence with beating the press, Glenwood’s chances of a comeback died. At halftime, Lanett led 28-20.

The third quarter saw Lanett destroy Glenwood by outscoring its host 13 to 4. Once again, Langdon found open shots and the Gators paid for not keeping her under wraps. She connected on two 3-point shots and a layup in the first three minutes of the quarter. The lead ballooned, as the end of the third stanza saw Lanett up 41 to 24. The Panthers were not done making a statement.

The fourth quarter saw Heard have a stretch of four layups before leaving the game. The reason she scored, and several of her teammates during the final quarter, stemmed from the defense continuing to force turnovers and getting easy transition buckets. 

For the game, the three leading scorers for Lanett were Langdon with 20, White with 12, and Heard with 11.