Basketball teams charging into final stretch of the season

The winter months are winding down, and so is basketball season. This month is tournament time, so every game is important to both Panther teams. The boys end the month with a 17-5 overall record and a 5-3 District 14-AAA record. The girls end with 10-11 record, 3-5 in 14-AAA.

Boys’ Basketball

The month of November ended with a rematch with the same Houston Mustangs team they beat four days prior in the Arlington Turkey Shootout by double digits. This game would turn out to be a far comparison from what happen at Arlington High. A close game from beginning to end, the Panthers came up short with 65-62 defeat, their first loss of the season.

December would be a great month for the boys. It started with a five-game winning streak with victories against St. Benedict, Germantown, rival Bolton, East, and Collierville. With a 10-1 record going into the Carbondale (IL) Holiday Tournament, they were the clear favorites. They won the opening matchup against Edwardsville (IL) on the 27th, but the next day lost to Raytown South (MO). This put them in the losers’ bracket, but this did not dampen their spirits. On the 29th alone, they beat East Peoria (IL) and the local Memphis University School to finish fifth place. They finished December with a 13-2 record.

January was a challenging month for the Panthers, who faced all their tough District 14-AAA counterparts in the month; they only played one of those teams before January, Bolton. Their first test was at home on the 4th against Arlington. Juniors Anthlon Bell and Marquarius Boddie passed the test, both scoring 22 points in an easy 82-69 win.

The next two games were road games against two other highly-ranked teams in 14-AAA, Cordova and Craigmont. These games were going to be the tests for this young team to see if they were the real deal in district.

In the first game on the 7th, the boys started the first quarter strong, leading 24-9. A win was definitely in sight. But afterwards, the spark went away. The halftime score was 34-26 Bartlett. The third quarter score was 53-48 Bartlett. The final score was 76-72 Cordova. Bell led all scorers with 23.

Due to the snow day on the 11th, the Craigmont game was moved to the 13th, one day before a regularly-scheduled home game versus Millington. In the first half, although Bartlett trailed 40-34, it seemed like a normal game. That would quickly change in the third quarter. Craigmont’s strong offense ballooned the lead to 70-47. Bartlett would lose 96-63, which now put them at 2-2 in district. Boddie led scorers with 25.

Finally back home after the failed road trip, Bartlett bounced back with a 100-71 win versus Millington. They trailed 22-15 after one, but strong offense and defense stopped the Trojans. Bell led scorers with 26.

The Panthers were now back on the road playing the final district team in the first half of district play, Raleigh-Egypt. They led as much as 25 in the fourth quarter. Then, all of a sudden, a very quick run put the Panthers back in the game, shrinking the lead as much as 8 points with about a minute left, but it was not enough. They lost the game 81-73. Bell once again led scorers with 31, half of those points coming in the fourth quarter alone. This put their record at 15-5, 3-3 in the first half of district play.

Another snowstorm would come through the area on the 20th, canceling a home game versus ECS. No makeup date for that game has been announced. This would give the team a one-week break before a rematch with the rivals from Bolton High. After a slow first quarter, the Panthers got back in the groove and made this game a far comparison from their last meeting in December. They would win 75-61, and Bell would once again lead scorers with 25 points.

The final game of the month would be on the 28th at Arlington. The first quarter would once again be slow for the Panthers, but the last three quarters would be a far comparsion. Arlington put on a run to start the third quarter down 16 points, but Bartlett would score 34 points in the fourth quarter to win 101-79 to break 100 for the second time this season. Bell and Boddie would get close to scoring 30, they had 28 and 27 respectively.

Girls’ Basketball

It seemed that the girls were going to struggle again this season, going winless into December. After a disappointing loss versus Houston on November 30th, the Lady Panthers got their first win versus St. Benedict on the 3rd. This would be the last game without junior Destiny James, whose recurring hamstring injury benched her once again. The loss of her became very clear when the Lady Panthers dropped three games on the road against Germantown, Bolton and East.

Still with James out, the Lady Panthers played Collierville on the 17th. After trailing by two after three quarters, Bartlett had a strong fourth quarter, which led then to a 49-38 victory. This victory was very important for Coach Lynn Whitfield, for it was her 500th victory as a coach. Going into the winter break, the Lady Panthers had a 2-5 record.

Bartlett began play in the first of two Christmas tournaments for the team, the O’Ryan Christmas Tournament at Harding Academy, on the 20th. They lost in the first round to Brentwood Academy, 47-32. This put them in the losers’ bracket, but the next two days, a big return would strengthen the Lady Panthers. With James back in the lineup, she led all Lady Panther scorers both days to get wins against Sycamore and Hickman County to finish the tournament in fifth place.

In the last tournament starting on the 27th, the Dragon Fire Invitational at Collierville High, Bartlett looked to ride their momentum to a tournament championship, but once again the Lady Panthers were put into the losers’ bracket with a 45-23 loss to Fairley. Bartlett would quickly redeem themselves with wins against ECS, Collierville, and East to once again finish fifth place. With the 5-2 record over the two holiday tournaments, the Lady Panthers now had a 7-7 record going into strong district play in January.

They started January with a two-game losing streak, losing at home to Arlington on the 4th and on the road to then undefeated Cordova on the 7th. Once again playing on the road in the rescheduled game at top-ranked Craigmont on the 13th, the Lady Panthers upset the Lady Chiefs 65-61. Junior Rachell Hughes led scorers with 18 points, while James, sophomore Tayla Harmon, and freshman Shondria Scruggs, all had double-digits points.

The next day, the Lady Panthers played at home versus Millington. A low-scoring game, Millington started to run away with the game, leading as much as 10 halfway through the fourth quarter, but Hughes and James led an incredible comeback, winning the game 36-35. Hughes had 9, James had 14, but a big three by junior Toni Chunn, her only points of the game, was very key in the comeback. Then they played the winless Lady Pharaohs of Raleigh-Egypt on the 18th, and it was Lady Panther dominance all the way. They won 71-21, clearly their biggest win of the season. Every Lady Panther player that showed up at the game, from Chunn with 12 points to sophomore Treazure Rogers with 1 point, had scored. Also in double-digits was junior Kelsie Torry, off the bench, with 11 points.

With a hot streak going, the winter weather would cool them off as they had a week off due to the canceling of the ECS game on the 20th. Their next game would be on the 25th at home versus rival Bolton. The Lady Wildcats would not make it easy for Bartlett, as they lead by double-digits midway through the third quarter. The Lady Panthers would make a strong comeback, cutting it to as much as three with less than a minute remaining, but it would not be enough. Bolton won 52-50, as James would lead with 15 points, Harmon with 14.

The month of January would end on the 28th at Arlington. After strong play and few turnovers in the first half, the Lady Panthers were poised to give the Lady Tigers their first loss in district, but they could not pull it off, as they would lose 64-40. The first-half surge occurred thanks to Chunn, who led all scorers with 13 points, and Scruggs, who scored 10.

February Preview

In February, the boys will look to avenge the three district road games they lost in January as Cordova (2-1), Craigmont (2-4), and Raleigh-Egypt (2-11) will all have to come to Farley Gym this month. The Craigmont game will be special as it is Homecoming Night at Bartlett High. Also, the Panthers will have a tough road test as the go up Highway 51 to face Millington on the 8th. On the 15th, it will be Senior Night as the Panthers host the FCA Nighthawks.

Also, can the girls keep their hot streak going into the last month of the season? All of these games are crucial for both teams as it will determine where each team is seeded in the District 14-AAA tournament, which will be held entirely at Bartlett High starting on the 18th. Only the top four in the District tournament can go to the Regional Tournament.

All games are available for listening on KPTR.com.

Tennis plans to backhand season

In the first match of the season against the Craigmont Chiefs, the Panther tennis team mauled their enemies almost to the point of death. The girls won three of their four matches, and the guys won all three matches. With a team consisting of mostly underclassmen, this was no easy feat.

“I think we’re more prepared,” sophomore Anne Albert said. “Last year the freshmen didn’t know how to play and didn’t know any of the rules.”

Some players, including sophomore Dima Cooper, believe that playing the tougher schools last year helped the team to improve this year.

“Last year was better,” Cooper said. “We played White Station and Germantown, and they’re harder schools. I am looking forward to playing Cordova, though.”

The players attribute some of their success to their coach, Brad Kovach.

“He tells you exactly what you need to do,” Albert said. “If you’re having trouble serving, he’ll tell you to work on serving.”

Even the upperclassmen admit that his coaching style helps them improve.

“Kovach is more laid back, but he pushes us,” senior Michella Douglas said. “He urges us to do our best and keeps us emotionally stable in matches.”

Kovach’s gift came in handy on Apr. 7 when the team vied against archrival Bolton High School. Although the girls won 4-1, the boys’ match was called off due to the rain. At the cut-off, the boys were tied 2-2. The match will be continued at a later date.

A match against Millington the next day faced fairer weather and similar results. The boys won 2-1, and the girls took the gold with 3-1. The match brought Bartlett’s overall record to girls, 3-0, and boys, 2-0.

Even though the freshmen may not have all the strength they require yet, they have teammates to whom they can look for advice on how to get better.

“I’ve gotten stronger since last year,” Albert said. “I couldn’t get the ball over the net, couldn’t win matches. It was really easy for others to beat me. As a team, I think we’ll get more wins [than last year].”

With the season only beginning, the tennis team still has a while to go before reaching their goal of winning the state championship.

Bowling team pins hopes on district win

They don’t tackle; they don’t score goals; they don’t swing bats; and they certainly don’t dribble the ball.  The bowling team may not play like other sports, but they are definitely striking out—that’s a good thing—and heading into the second half of district competition.

Both the boys’ and the girls’ teams have already completed two rounds of districts.  On Wednesday, Dec. 2 the boys faced Germantown and the girls went head to head with Cordova.  Both teams won.

During the second round on Thursday, Dec. 3, both teams opposed archrival Bolton High, but only the boys came out victorious.  On Tuesday, Dec. 8 they will challenge Germantown once again.

With these two victories to boost their confidence, the boys have no doubt that they will come out on top.

“If we just play our game, we’ll definitely win district,” junior Conor Hillock said.

On another note, although the girls lost against Bolton, they are not yet out for the count.  On Dec. 8 they will tackle Millington, and this match will determine their fate in the remainder of district championships.

The teams’ skills this year are a complete reversal from last season.  Last year the girls were undefeated in districts, and the boys won hardly any games.  However, both teams have played to win, and they have done exactly that, even if the girls have not won as much as the boys.

“It’s been difficult this year,” freshman Kourtney Little said.  “We’ve lost a lot of our seniors.  It’s like a build-up year for us; we’ve got a lot of freshmen.”

This fact becomes obvious when one knows that the girls only beat Collierville and Germantown before going to districts.  However, with help from Little and freshman Courtney Gable, the team may be able to pull through districts.

“I’ve done league bowling since I was five years old,” Little said.  “League bowling helps you build sportsmanship and prepares you for whatever you would face in a match.”

Senior Stephanie Klink, a first-year bowler, recognizes the importance of knowing each other’s abilities when playing on a team, and also how difficult playing against another team can be.

“You bowl with [your team] more on a regular basis,” Klink said, “and it’s a little challenging.  When you’re going up against a team from another school, you’re not sure exactly what to look forward to.”

Despite their tough season, though, head coach Art Thompson remains confident in the players’ abilities.

“I’m so proud of everybody,” Thompson said.  “Nobody has given up.  Everybody’s really pulled together as a team.  This is probably the closest team we’ve had in the last three years.”

The third round of districts will take place Tuesday, Dec. 8 at AllStar Lanes at the corner of White Station and Quince.  The team will be looking for support from students and faculty during this last stretch of matches.  If they are successful, they will progress to the fourth round on Wednesday, Dec. 9.