Published: January 23, 2008 08:12 am      

Bullard nips Lady Hornets

AHS falls two games back of Lady Panthers with 48-46 homecourt loss

Control of the District 14-AAA race belongs to the Bullard Lady Panthers.

Bullard outlasted the Athens Lady Hornets for a 48-46 at the AHS gym Tuesday night to open up a two-game lead with four games remaining.

The Lady Panthers, 23-4 on the year, are 6-0 in 14-AAA. Second-year coach Keith Durrett’s Lady Hornets tumbled to 18-8 and 4-2.

AHS, which will likely not repeat its 14-AAA title from a year ago, is locked in a second-place battle with Canton. The Lady Hornets, who were a 66-49 winner over Canton earlier this month, is at home Friday to face Canton.

Bullard, a 55-39 winner over the Lady Hornets in the first meeting, had a tougher time on its hands this time around. Up until the fourth quarter, the two teams played on even terms. The score was tied at the end of the first three quarters.

In the fourth quarter, the Lady Hornets opened on a 5-0 spurt to take their biggest lead of the game, 41-36. Alex Furr turned a steal into a layup and Holly Eckert hit a free throw and converted a rebound into points for the lead.

Four different players scored to lead the Lady Panthers back into a 44-41 lead with 2:56 remaining.

The Lady Hornets enjoyed their last lead, 45-44, with 2:22 to go on a Staci Hankins three-pointer.

After Allison Sanders and Hankins each missed a free throw down the stretch, Sarah Welling hit one for Bullard with 17 seconds left for a 48-46 lead. The Lady Hornets missed two shots in the final six seconds.

Hankins had 15 points to lead the Lady Hornets. Furr netted 10 and Sanders, who along with Eckert was playing in just her second game of the season, had nine. Asha Wilson and Eckert had five each.

Calli Miller came off the bench to lead Bullard’s balanced scoring effort with 12. Danielle Heithoff had 10 and Elisa Lee nine.

The JV game saw Bullard soar away for a 34-18 win.

Nicole Graham had eight for AHS.



LADY PANTHERS 48, LADY HORNETS 46

Bullard 11 16 9 12 — 48

Athens 11 16 9 10 — 46

BULLARD (48) — Elisa Lee 9; Hillary Philpott 5; Mallory Red 2; Sarah Welling 5; Danielle Heithoff 10; Calli Miller 12; Christina Hatten 3; Kayla Welling 2

ATHENS (46) — Staci Hankins 15; Alex Furr 10; Asha Wilson 5; Ashley Darby 2; Allison Sanders 9; Holly Eckert 5

Three-Pointers: Bullard 0-6. Athens 5-20 — Hankins (3), Furr (2)

Turnovers: Bullard 26. Athens 11

Free Throws: Bullard 15-22 (Miller (6-7). Athens 13-19 (Sanders 5-8)

Records: Bullard 23-4, 6-0. Athens 18-8, 4-2