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The East Lady Panthers went into the locker room trailing 14-16 against West, but a strong second half performance cemented a 40-34 win for them over the Lady Bobcats.

Gena Hickerson led the way for East, finishing as the leading scorer of the game with 24. Her twitchy moves with the ball and her ability to overpower defenders caused problems for West all night. Hickerson and her teammates also showcased scrappy defense throughout the night, which proved to be vital in the game’s biggest moments.

This was exemplified through East guard Rylee Ferguson. She drew an offensive foul with just over a minute left in the fourth quarter, in what was a one score game at 33-30. It was the elite play of Hickerson and moments like these that helped propel the Lady Panthers over West and get this win.

The ‘Cats did have a chance to win this game, as they began to claw their way back into the game late in the fourth quarter.

West guard Joslynn Lidstrom lit up the threads at Tullahoma High School, with a top-of-the-key three, cutting the Lady Panthers lead to one. Lindstrom finished tied with her teammate, Makayla Staten, as the ‘Cats leading scorer, both scoring eight points. Her three shocked life back into the game, but some misses from the charity stripe took them out of it, as the ‘Cats missed a total of eight free throws in the fourth quarter.

With both teams just a month into the season, there are plenty of things to be excited about for each team, and as the weather continues to get colder in Tullahoma, both of these teams will just continue to get better.