Albany, NY - The Panthers hosted Washington County Community College in the first doubleheader of the year on Sunday afternoon!
The women tipped off first in what started out as a defensive battle. Both teams held the other to under 20% from the field while a majority of the points were at the free throw line. Freshman Adora Cho (Great Neck, NY) got four freebies, nailing all of them in the first to give the Panthers a 12-10 lead after one. The second quarter was almost identical with low shooting percentages and more free throws. Despite only four made field goals in the first half, the Panthers were down 22-20 at the half.
Things started to click for the Panthers in the second half. Cho hit two more threes en route to a 12 point third quarter performance, nearly scoring as much as the Golden Eagles (14) altogether for the period. The Panthers won the period 19-14 to hold a three point lead going into the fourth. In the final period, five different Panthers found the bottom of the net, with Emma Russell (Ava, NY) and Akosua Adu-Gyamfi (Holden, MA) combining for 11 points.
The Panthers ultimately won the game 56-42 behind Cho who finished with 21 points in her collegiate debut. Adu-Gyamfi finished with 10 points while Russell added 12 boards and 4 steals to her 7 points. After the women's game concluded, the men tipped off at 2pm.
The first few minutes was even between the two teams as it was tied 11-11 after five minutes. Then the Golden Eagles got hot and went on a 13-3 run to give themselves a ten point lead, which eventually grew to twelve points with around 7 minutes left in the first half. After that, the Panthers attacked the paint, scoring their next seven buckets down below and cut the lead down to only 3 points at the break. Alex Carrillo (Akron, OH) led all players with 9 points at half while Nathan Lynes (Miami, FL) added 8 points.
In the second half, they continued attacking the paint and eventually took their first lead of the game about 4 minutes into the period. Riding their points in the paint gameplan, they were able to maintain a two or three possession lead for most of the second half, with the Golden Eagles only once, very briefly, taking a 1 point lead. That moment came with 12 minutes left, but after that the Panthers never looked back.
Carrillo finished with a 27 point, 13 rebound double-double while Lynes added a career high 21 points. Logan Yohe (Delmar, NY), DJ Bridges (Hamsburg, PA), and Chase Tamashiro (Kane'ohe, HI) each scored 8 points to help the Panthers prevail 79-75.
Both teams will have a few days rest before they host their conference opponent Word of life Huskies on Wednesday evening.
How to follow the Panthers: For the latest information on ACPHS athletics, visit acphspanthers.com or check out the ACPHS athletics social media platforms on Instagram @ACPHSPanthers or X @ACPHSAthletics.
Written by Angelo Oddo.
