Basketball Game Preview: Therrell Panthers vs. Columbia Eagles

Therrell hasn't had much luck against Columbia recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Panthers will challenge the Eagles. Both teams are coming into the contest red-hot, with Therrell sitting on seven straight wins and Columbia on 11.

Therrell is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. Everything went their way against Salem as they made off with a 65-43 victory. The Panthers have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won ten games by 22 points or more this season.

Azil Hazzard

Rebounds

02/24/26 @ Salem	14
02/19/26 vs Coretta Scott King YWLA	15
02/05/26 vs Utopian Academy for the Arts	18
02/03/26 vs Lovett	16
01/30/26 @ Washington	15
+ 23 more games

Therrell got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Azil Hazzard out in front who dropped a double-double with 25 points and 14 boards. Hazzard has been hot for a while, having posted eight or more rebounds the last 28 times she's played. Taraji Stewart was another key player, putting up 18 points and four steals.

Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Columbia). They blew past Crisp County 96-30 on Tuesday. Given the Eagles' advantage in MaxPreps' Georgia basketball rankings (they are ranked 69th, while the Cougars are ranked 375th) , the win wasn't entirely unexpected.

Therrell's victory bumped their record up to 18-3. As for Columbia, their win bumped their record up to 20-6.

Therrell was dealt a bruising 81-18 loss at the hands of Columbia when the teams last played back in January of 2022. Thankfully for the Panthers, Nia Anderson (who went 8-for-16 on her way to 23 points in addition to seven boards and three steals) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.