After overcoming a 15-point halftime deficit on Thursday to beat Angelina the Lady Leopards found themselves down by eight against Panola on Saturday with about 10 minutes to play.
And the Lady Leopards soared to 96-85 victory.
“We definitely like to make games interesting,” Temple coach Kim Sebek said. “Those last five minutes the girls played with a lot of heart. We just need to find a way to extend that to forty minutes.”
Temple’s Brittany Roberson and Courtney Moore each had 19 points, Mareta Bailey added 17 and Kanesha Rich had 14.
The Lady Leopards (5-3) found themselves troubled early by Panola’s full court press and simple 2-3 zone and trailed for most of the first half, at one point by 10 points.
“We struggled a little bit with their zone,” Sebek said. “We haven’t seen a zone in a while.”
But in the final minutes, two 3-pointers by Courtney Moore, a fast break basket by Chloe Wallace and free throws by Moore and Kenesha Rich gave the Lady Leopards the lead at the half, 49-48.
Panola kept the press on in the second half and drianed some 3s to reclaimed and build the lead and set up the frantic final 10 minutes.
A turnaround jump shot by Bailey followed by two free throws and a jumper from Emma Sutten pulled Temple within one at 70-69. Then Brittany Roberson converted on back-to-back steals giving Temple a 72-69 lead.
After Panola tied it at 74, Temple began to pull away.
After a jump shot by Sutten put TC up by two, Panola’s Kayla Weaver missed back-to back shots and Temple converted both into three-point plays. The first was a fast break by Mareta Bailey who converted the lay-up and drew a foul. The second was an open 3-pointer by Brittany Roberson.
Bailey finished the game with 14 rebounds, including seven in the final eight minutes.
“I thought at the end of the game we stepped up and got some big rebounds,” Sebek said. “And we were able to step up and do well a the free throw line.”
The free throws had been an early season issue with the Lady Leopards, but they were solid on Saturday, converting 14 of 14 in the first half and finished the game with 31 of 36.
“This was a great win,” Sebek said. “Panola is a great team that likes to run and will shoot a transition 3.”
The Lady Leopards will be at Blinn for a 5:30 p.m. game on Tuesday.
Leopards rebound by cruising past New Mexico Military
LEVELLAND - After getting blown out 107-77 by defending NJCAA national champion South Plains on Friday, Temple’s character was tested on Saturday.
The Leopards responded in a big way, blowing out New Mexico Military in the second half for a 98-56 victory.
“I told them it just comes down to pride,” said TC coach Kirby Johnson, who said Friday he couldn’t remember losing by such a large margin as his squad did against South Plains.
Leading 43-38 at halftime, Temple (6-2) started the second half on a 12-4 run for a 55-42 lead to force a Broncos timeout.
After the break, the Leopards kept on rolling, going on a 26-2 run to blow the game wide open.
TC held New Mexico Military to just four field goals and 18 points in the second half.
“Our defense was good and we got some turnovers on the press which we didn’t against South Plains,” Johnson said. “That was the nice thing to see following an embarrassing loss.”
Temple graduate Russ Permenter led the Leopards with a season-high 25 points, Adam Guerrero had 12 points, all on 3-pointers, and Allyn Cooks had 11.
TC faces Navarro, which beat the Leopards 105-95 earlier in the season, at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Corsicana.
