PINETOWN — Northside leveled its early-season record at 1-1 with a 54-38 win against Columbia on Monday. The Lady Panthers had been routed, 57-30, by Washington in their season opener.

They had been overwhelmed by the Lady Pack’s full-court press, and were outmatched in the post. As is the point of non-conference action, the Lady Panthers learned from the experience. They were much more aggressive with their own press.

“We’ve been trying to work on that. We’ll get different girls out there at different times,” Northside coach Michelle Leathers said. “It’s something we tried last year, so I thought we’d try it. Coming off that loss to Washington, we didn’t get the opportunity. We’re just trying different stuff.”

That’s Leathers’ objective at this point in the season. She’s used to having to make a sort of hard rest after losing a handful of talented players. On top of wanting to give the full-court press another go, she also noticed some things about the way Washington ran its high-pressure defense.

“They want you to get the ball so you can take it to the hot spot,” Leathers said. “We’re been working on that. We’re just missing a true point guard. If you have a true point guard, you’ll be alright.”

Even more impressive was Northside playing bigger than it actually is. This year’s squad is without the dominant paint presences of Quortasia Clark and Kendall Alligood.

 

Filling that void is Rachel Lang, who torched Columbia for a game-best 25 points in the Lady Panthers’ first win of the season. Savannah Slade performed well on the glass when she was on the court, too. The junior is far from the longest player on the hardwood, but she was able to get in position and use he athleticism to get up and grab rebounds.

“We’re trying. That’s all we can do after losing Tasia, Kendall and some other girls,” Leathers said. “… My freshmen are very athletic, but they’ve still got a lot to learn.”

Even considering the lack of size, Leathers is able to give her players a chance down low. The experienced Northside coach said they’ve been working on boxing out and other rebounding tactics.

“We’ve got to box out because we don’t have that height,” Leathers said. “Kendall didn’t care. She’d box out anybody. We just don’t have that. We’ve got to learn the fundamentals of the game. That’s boxing out, then you can get a rebound.”

The Lady Panthers scored 14 points in the first, second and third periods. It was a consistent offensive effort. They didn’t have a chance to practice after playing Washington on Friday, but will have plenty of time to address everything they’ve learned through two games.