The Paint Branch Lady Panthers’ basketball team opened up their promising season with a hard-earned win over Churchill last Friday night.

The Panthers struggled early on as they could not properly execute a half-court play and relied on fast-break transition buckets for most of their points in the first half.  Sloppy ball handling also plagued Paint Branch as turnovers piled up because they could not get a shot off. The Bulldogs’ defense kept a tight control on wide-open players and forced Paint Branch to work their way into the paint. As the halftime buzzer sounded, the Panthers trailed Churchill, 22 -24.

Stepping back on the court for the 3rd quarter, the Panthers finally found the spark in scoring thanks to junior Daisa Harris finding luck in penetrating Churchill’s defense and getting to the rim. Paint Branch’s defense also stepped up during this period, as excellent guard play led to easy transition points, especially by the second leading scorer of the night, senior Kiara Colston, who finished with 16 points.

The Panthers hit the cruise control switch during the 4th quarter as they held tight to a double-digit lead. The game ended with Paint Branch over Churchill, 68-48.  Harris led Paint Branch in scoring with 18 points as the team took a slow start and turned it into a bold first game statement on a very promising season.

The Panthers continued their stellar play against Northwood the following Wednesday as they recorded a lopsided 78-18 victory over the Gladiators.

Throughout all four quarters of play, it seemed as if Paint Branch could do no wrong, as they scored well in the paint, beyond the arc, and added fast break points.  Northwood severely struggled to get anything going as they committed turnover after turnover and could not find space to take shots due to a very up-close defense by the Panthers.

With two victories under their belt, the team looks to march on with their next test – a battle against Watkins Mill on Monday, December 16th.