After Intense First Half, Lady Rams Fall to Conference Foe

The Lady Rams came out strong in the first half of their Nov.29, game against Olive- Harvey but couldn't close out the game, as they fell to the Lady Panthers, 66-47.

You could feel the intensity in the gym at Wright college Tuesday night as the Lady Panthers and Lady Rams faced off for a conference matchup. The scoring started early and was often for both teams who traded baskets throughout the first quarter.

The Lady Rams put together their best quarter of the season, scoring 18 first-quarter points, a new season high. Their strong play was centered around forward Tyler Mayne’s seven first-quarter points. Mayne is Wright's leading scorer this season averaging 13.5 points per game. She added to her season average Tuesday, scoring a team-high 16 points.

Tyler Mayne attempting and making a pull-up jump shot

After the first quarter, the Rams found themselves trailing 23-18. To start the second quarter, the Lady Rams did not allow a point until the 7:04 mark, during that span, they were also able to force four turnovers to keep them in the game. After not being able to convert on the offensive side throughout the quarter, Coach Smith called a timeout to try and put together a new offensive plan. When they came out of the timeout, they still had trouble getting past the Lady Panthers' stifling defensive effort, led by Center Fantasia Baines.

Baines wasn’t just effective on the defensive end and was just as dominant on the offensive end. Her 20 first-half points were key to giving the Lady Panthers a 37-27 lead going into the half.

After an excellent first half from the sophomore forward, the Lady Rams made the necessary adjustments at halftime to slow Fantasia down and limited her to just six second-half points.

Fantasia Baines at the free throw line

The defense played well for the Lady Rams, but throughout the second half their offensive wows continued. In the third and fourth quarters they were able to get to the free throw line 12 times but only were able to convert six of those attempts. They were also able to get good looks around the basket, but just couldn’t cash in on those chances.

Despite going head to head with the Lady Panthers throughout the first half, Wright couldn’t keep up the momentum that the Panthers built, and they fell to the Lady Panthers to fall to third place in the conference.