Make it seven blowout wins for the Panther Creek Catamounts this season. They claimed a resounding 68-22 win over Apex Friendship at home. The victory was nothing new for Panther Creek as they're now sitting on three straight.
Panther Creek's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Taylor Barner led the charge by scoring 24 points along with four steals. Barner has been hot recently, having posted 15 or more points the last five times she's played. Olivia Tucker was another key contributor, dropping a double-double on 15 points and 13 steals.
Apex Friendship's defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Avery Kiger, who scored 11 points along with three steals. That was a full 50% of Apex Friendship's points, marking the third time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Apex Friendship struggled to work together and finished the game with only an assist. That's the fewest assists they've managed all season.
Panther Creek's victory was their 23rd straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 9-4. They've been dominating during the matches in that stretch too, as they've won by an average of 31.91 points. As for Apex Friendship, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 7-6.
Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Panther Creek will stay at home for another game and welcome Willow Spring at 6:00 p.m. on January 15th. The matchup should be an exciting one, as these teams are ranked near one another in North Carolina (Willow Spring is ranked 21st, while Panther Creek is ranked 22nd). As for Apex Friendship, they will be playing in front of their home fans against Broughton at 3:00 p.m. on Monday. Hopefully Broughton focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 24 on Friday.
