Preview: Langston Hughes Panthers vs. Newnan Cougars
Langston Hughes is 6-1 against Newnan since December of 2014, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The Langston Hughes Panthers' road trip will continue as they head out to face the Newnan Cougars at 6:00 p.m. on January 19th. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last game, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this match.
Langston Hughes is ranked highly in their home state, and on Saturday they took on another highly ranked team in the form of Webb. Langston Hughes was just a bucket shy of victory and fell 50-49 to Webb.
Langston Hughes' defeat came about despite a quality game from McKayla Taylor, who dropped a double-double on 21 points and 19 rebounds. Taylor has been hot recently, having posted eight or more rebounds the last 12 times she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Kyla Greene, who scored ten points along with two steals.
Meanwhile, Newnan's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Thursday after their tenth straight loss. They took a hard 52-36 fall against South Paulding. The loss unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for Newnan in their matchups with South Paulding: they've now lost four in a row.
Langston Hughes' defeat dropped their record down to 12-3. As for Newnan, they bumped their record down to 4-11 with that defeat, which was their seventh straight at home.
Everything came up roses for Langston Hughes against Newnan in their previous meeting back in December of 2023 as the squad secured a 67-37 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Langston Hughes since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
