Panthers Earn Split in St. Petersburg

Palm Beach State College Women's Basketball team won one and lost one this weekend in St. Petersburg.  The Panthers were originally scheduled to play in Daytona, but Hurricane Nicole forced the change in venue.  While the location changed, the matchups stayed the same as the Panthers faced St. Petersburg on Saturday November 12th and Daytona State on Sunday November 13th. 

The Panthers lost a tough game to St. Petersburg 75-62.  Palm Beach hung tough in the first quarter, going into the 1st period break down 19-16.  That is when the pressure from the Titans was too much for the Panthers.  St. Petersburg outscored the Panthers 22-10 in the 2nd quarter and went into halftime with a 41-26 lead.  The Panthers came out on fire in the 3rd, cutting the 14 point halftime deficit in half.  St. Petersburg was able to pull away in the forth en route to victory.

Athaliah Brown lead the way for the Panthers with 13 points, Savannah McAfee had 11 points in her first collegiate start, and Andrea Torres had 10 points.

Sunday was a brand new day for the Panthers.  Palm Beach jumped to a 6-3 lead, leading to a Daytona timeout.  The Falcons came out on fire from the timeout, going on a 10-1 run to lead 13-7.  Both teams traded baskets to end the 1st quarter with the Falcons leading 17-11.  Palm Beach turned up the defense in the 2nd quarter, holding Daytona to 10 points.  Daytona lead 27-23 at halftime.

That is when the Panthers came out with "Panthergy."  The team has taken their "Panther energy" cheer and combined the two words to come up with "Panthergy."  After scoring 23 points total in the 1st half, the Panthers exploded for 23 points just in the 3rd quarter as the game was tied at 46 after 3 quarters of play.  Palm Beach was able to keep the momentum going into the 4th and pulled away with an four point victory, 73-69.

Keri Cooper had 13 points and 10 rebounds for her 1st career collegiate double-double.  Andrea Torres added 11, Savannah McAfee had 10 points and 7 rebounds.  Ashley Thornton had a busy day has she had 8 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 steals.  Tamaya Patterson, a transfer from Daytona State, was a spark plug off the bench scoring 9 points.

Palm Beach State is home this Friday November 18th and Saturday November 19th as they host the Panther Holiday Classic.  Games will be live streamed on the Women's Basketball Youtube Page.