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Sheldon girls fall at home
By Eric Wade
Daily Mail Sports Editor
SHELDON -- The Sheldon Lady Panthers basketball team made its return to Sheldon High School Monday night, hoping to get back on the winning track. The Dadeville Lady Bearcats had other ideas, however, ultimately proving early on, which was the better team.
By the time all was said and done, Dadeville's defense held the Lady Panthers solidly in check throughout the duration of the contest. That defensive dominance was all head coach Daniel Durst's Lady Bearcats needed to run away and hide early, on the way to a 59-17 victory.
"That was ugly," Lady Panthers head coach Jason Irwin said.
The Lady Panthers entered the night knowing they would be at a distinct disadvantage, not only because of Dadeville's prior success, but also the fact that the Lady Panthers were not only without a player who went down earlier in the season with a leg injury -- Melissa Handle -- but also didn't have one of their best players available for Monday's game in Destiny Shelton. Shelton's absence made a clear and significant impact, right from the start of the contest, as the Lady Panthers simply couldn't seem to do much of anything with ball.
"That just goes to show how important one person can be," Irwin said. "Not that we'd have won the game, but we just didn't know what to do without Destiny on the floor."
Dadeville wasted little time taking advantage of those factors, opening up a quick 7-0 lead before Irwin was forced to use his first timeout just 31 seconds into the game. Things didn't get much better for the Lady Panthers from there, as Dadeville went on to score the contest's first 22 points before Logan Lamb hit a bucket with 1 minute, 27 seconds left in the opening period to get the Lady Panthers on the board.
In that time, the Lady Panthers turned the ball over 11 times, making things easy for the opposition. By the time all was said and done, the contest seemed out of reach already as the Lady Bearcats took a 24-2 lead into the second quarter.
For the remainder of the opening half, it looked as though the Lady Panthers had begun to settle in as Irwin's squad kept pace much more effectively in the second quarter. Dadeville's offense still got the better of the exchange, however, winning the quarter, 12-8, to take a 36-10 lead into the locker room at halftime.
With Shelton out, it was clear to all involved that someone else would have to step up and fill her shoes and sophomore Logan Lamb did so, emphatically. By the time the first half ended, Lamb had all 10 of her squad's points.
As the second half began, things never really did get better for Sheldon. The scoring did get spread around a bit more, however, as Lamb was shut out for the remainder of the game until the fouled out in the fourth quarter.
Without any second-half production from Lamb, the Lady Panthers managed just seven points, while Dadeville put up 19 in the third quarter alone, taking a 55-15 lead into the contest's final 8 minutes. Thanks to the running clock, the fourth quarter was the closest and lowest-scoring frame of the contest, as the two squads combined for just six points to make up the final margin.
By game's end, Lamb's 10 first-half points were enough to lead the Lady Panthers' offensive effort for the night. Dani Hibbits finished with four points and Kylie Leavell rounded out the scoring for Sheldon with three.
With the loss, the Lady Panthers fell to 2-13 on the season and will be back in action on Thursday, when they head back out on the road to take on Fair Play. Tipoff in the first game on that night's schedule is set for 5:30 p.m., at Fair Play High School.