LaGrange women try to rebound against Huntingdon in GSAC game
Jan. 23, 2007

GAME FACTS — The LaGrange College women's basketball team goes on the road to face GSAC foe Huntingdon on Wednesday. The Panthers fell to Piedmont 71-62 in a GSAC game last Saturday at Mariotti Gym. It was the second straight GSAC loss for the Panthers, now 8-8 overall and 2-3 in conference play. Huntingdon stopped a three-game losing streak with a 69-47 home win over Rust. The Lady Hawks are tied with the Panthers for fourth in the conference with a 2-3 mark and are 5-12 overall.

THE SERIES — Huntingdon leads the series 8-7. The Lady Hawks swept both regular season games last season; winning 69-65 at LaGrange and 60-38 at Montgomery. The Panthers upset the Lady Hawks 74-72 in the GSAC Championship Tournament. Huntingdon has won six of the seven previous meetings at the Delchamps Student Center, better known as The Brick House. The Panthers only win came during the 2001-02 season by a 62-53 score.

THE COACHES: LaGrange's Kelly Britsky is in her eighth season as the Panthers' women's head coach. She has a career record of 78-122. Britsky guided the Panthers to a 17-11 record during the 2001-2002 season that included a trip to the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) National Tournament.

Britsky played volleyball and softball for the Panthers while earning a degree in History in 1993 and a Masters in Education in 1999. She stayed on as an assistant coach in 1994 when the Panther softball team won a national championship. She left LaGrange for three years to coach basketball, softball, and track at Perry High School in Perry, Ga. before returning in 1997.

Buzz Phillips is the athletics director for Huntingdon and the interim women's basketball coach for the second time in as many seasons. Last season, the Lady Hawks were 9-5 after Phillips took over as coach. They began the season 2-10. This season, Phillips took over three games into the season, compiling a 5-9 record. Phillips is beginning his third year as Huntingdon's athletics director and it is his second tour of duty with the school.

Prior to coming back to Huntingdon, Phillips spent three years at Troy (State) University. He joined the Trojan staff in the spring of 2001 as Director of Marketing. For two seasons Phillips was the Director of Football Operations. He also served as director of basketball and baseball operations and as the athletic department's director of special events. Phillips spent most of the 1990's with Huntingdon College in various capacities. His first five seasons (1991-96), Phillips served as an assistant baseball coach before becoming head basketball coach and reviving a program that had not existed since its suspension in 1979. He was also assistant athletic director for his final five years with the Hawks program. In 2000-01, Phillips guided Huntingdon to the National Small College Athletic Association national title and was named "Coach of the Year" by the NSCAA.

ABOUT THE LADY HAWKS — The Lady Hawks had little trouble in beating Rust. They never trailed in the game, leading 36-25 at halftime. Lori Bonds had a game-high and season-high 23 points to lead the Lady Hawks. Thyra Masalin and Patsy Slater added 10 points each, while Dusti Doss had 10 rebounds. Bonds leads the team in scoring, averaging 11.2 points per game. Doss is averaging 10 points and a team best 8.0 rebounds per game. She is fifth in the GSAC in rebounding. The Lady Hawks are 5-4 this season and 2-1 in GSAC play at The Brick House. The Lady Hawks upset GSAC co-leader Piedmont 65-57 on Jan. 10 in The Brick House.

ABOUT THE PANTHERS — Piedmont used two scoring spurts to down the Panthers 71-62. The Lady Lions outscored the Panthers 10-4 to end the first half with a 36-27 lead. Piedmont started the second half with a 9-2 spurt to put the game out of reach. Beth Adcock scored a game-high 22 points for Piedmont. Adcock's teammate, Sheena Trimiar, had 21 points. Valeree Williams and Lindsey Moore each had 14 points for the Panthers. Williams tied with teammate Jennifer Penston and Piedmont's Kayla Duncan for game honors with seven rebounds. LaTessa Taylor leads the Panthers in scoring and rebounding, averaging 11.4 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. She is eighth in scoring and seventh in rebounding in the GSAC. The Panthers are third in the conference in scoring, averaging 68.1 points per game.

RECORDS WATCH — LaTessa Taylor needs 14 points to reach 500 career points with the Panthers…Taylor is fourth on the all-time steals list with 108, passing Karey Howard, who had 99…Lindsey Moore and Kellee Scandrett are 1-2 in career steals…Moore has 124 and Scandrett 122…Moore became only the third Panther to reach the milestone of 200 free throws made in a career…Scandrett passed former player and now assistant coach Ashley McNair for fourth on the all-time assists list with 105…Scandrett is also the career leader in three-pointers made with 102, the only Panther to go over the 100 mark.