Basketball Recap: Emily Lundquist's Big Game Can't Quite Lead Piedmont over Forest Hills

Piedmont lost against Forest Hills back in January and unfortunately they wound up with the same result on Friday. The Piedmont Panthers came up short against the Forest Hills Yellow Jackets, falling 57-34. While losing is never fun, the Panthers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 409th, while the Yellow Jackets are ranked 138th).

Several Panthers players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Emily Lundquist, who posted ten points and four steals. What's more, Lundquist also posted a 60% field goal percentage, which is the highest she's posted since back in November of 2024. Ashyln Pressley was another key player, putting up four points and six rebounds.

Forest Hills' success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Layla Rushing led the charge by almost dropping a double-double on 16 points and nine boards. Rushing has been hot for a while, having also posted two or more steals the last nine times she's played. Another player making a difference was Derrianna Mclendon, who went 8 for 17 en route to 18 points and six rebounds.

Piedmont has been struggling recently as they've lost six of their last seven matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 7-12 record this season. As for Forest Hills, the win (which was their ninth in a row) raised their record to 16-2.

Piedmont has already played their next contest, a 65-35 victory against Central Academy on the 4th. As for Forest Hills, they also wasted no time getting back out on the court and have already played their next game, a 72-45 win against West Stanly on the 4th.