Panthers split two games at Texas tournament
Nov. 24, 2007

GEORGETOWN, Texas – LaGrange College snapped a two-game losing streak by edging Austin College 55-51 at the Southwestern/Austin Invitational Tournament on Saturday. The Panthers (3-2) had opened the tournament with a 76-49 loss to host Southwestern on Friday.

In Saturday's game, Austin's Katy Williams led all scorers with 33 points. Ebonie Johnson led LaGrange with a season and career-high 17 points. Jessica Boler had a game-high nine rebounds for the Panthers.

LaGrange fell behind Austin 11-2 in the first five minutes of the game. Williams had nine of the 11 points for the Kangaroos. Johnson's jumper gave the Panthers their first lead, 16-15, with 8:15 left in the half.

The lead swapped hands six times the rest of the half. Valeree Williams' basket put the Panthers up 23-21 with less than two minutes left in the half. The Panthers did not score the rest of the half and Maegan Fitzgerald hit a pair of free throws to tie the game 23-23 at halftime.

In the second half, the Panthers took the lead for good with 12 minutes left. Johnson tied the game at 33, and then made a steal on the defensive end and a layup at the other end for a 35-33 lead.

Ashley DeFreitas hit a pair of free throws to put the Panthers up 51-42 with 1:08 left, their largest lead of the game. Ashley Hoglund's two free throws matched the largest lead and gave the Panthers a 55-46 lead with 32 seconds left. Williams scored the game's final five points for Austin for the 55-51 final.

In the loss to Southwestern, the Panthers never led in the game. The Lady Pirates jumped out to an 18-2 lead after the first eight minutes of the game. Southwestern led 33-16 at halftime, holding the Panthers to 26 percent shooting from the field.

The Panthers never got closer than 15 points in the second half. The 76-49 final score matched Southwestern's largest lead.

Shannah Mabry and Jessica Barba each had nine points for the Panthers. The Lady Pirates had four players in double-figures, led by Natasha Azizi's 13 points.

The Panthers travel to Atlanta on Wednesday to face Emory University.