LADY PANTHERS START OFF SLOW BUT FINISH FAST TO DEFEAT SPALDING (Jan. 21st)

SFA Girls vs. Archbishop Spalding (Home)
Wed. January 21^st, 2009

In the first half the Lady Panthers looked like they were playing in slow motion….but when they came out in the third quarter, Coach Shelton must have put the “peddle to the meddle” because they were a different team…..one that we are very familiar with as fans.

The Panthers were down two at the end of the first quarter and up by only one at the half. They ended up winning going away 80-59. Spalding played very well in the first half and took away the fast break opportunities and forced the Panthers to play a half court offense. In the third quarter they were forcing turnovers and using their run and gun offense.

Briana Hutchins led the way with 24 points and 16 boards, followed by Shatyra Hawkes who had 18 points, 8 assists and 7 steals. Deanna Harmon chipped in with 12 points and Tasia Bristow had 11 with 8 assists. Once the girls got going, there was no stopping them but for at least one half it was looking like a possible upset in the making.

The Panthers play at Mercy today and then host IND on Monday.

SFA Girls	Points	Rebounds	Assists	Steals	Blocks
Hutchins	24	16	1	0	3
Hawkes	18	4	8	7	0
Harmon	12	6	2	4	1
Bristow	11	3	8	1	0
McClurkin	7	4	4	2	0
Benn	2	0	0	0	0
Ngobeny	6	4	1	0	0

PANTHERS OUTLAST MSJ IN DOUBLE OVERTIME 83-76 (Jan. 20th)

SFA Boys Varsity vs. MSJ (Home)
Tuesday, January 20^th, 2009

The Panthers and the Gaels put on a fitting climax to the Inauguration Day celebration by going into double overtime to decide the victor. The Panthers came out on top probably because two of the Gaels best players fouled out in the first overtime.

The game was close right from the beginning like two heavyweights going at it, each one taking the others’ best shot. MSJ went ahead in the fourth quarter and the Panthers had to play catch up to tie the game. Terrell Vinson had another double-double with 34 points and 10 rebounds but the unsung hero was Dante Holmes, who scored 20 points, twelve of them in the final quarter and the two overtimes. He also sank to clutch free throws to tie the game with 2 ticks on the clock left. Greg Lewis had a strong game also with 12 points and 8 boards. Wayne Sparrow had 13 points and 5 assists. It was a great match-up between two very good teams and the Panthers needed a win after losing to Lake on Saturday. Next up is John Carroll this evening at John Carroll.

SFA Varsity	Points	Rebounds	Assists	Steals	Blocks
Vinson	34	10	2	0	2
Williams	2	3	5	2	0
Lewis	12	8	0	1	2
Sparrow	13	4	5	0	0
Holmes	20	5	3	1	0
Rogers	0	1	0	0	1
Goines	2	1	1	0	1

JV DEFEATS MT. ST. JOE BY TEN (Jan. 20th)

SFA Boys JV vs. MSJ (Home)
Tuesday, January 20^th, 2009

The Panthers struggled with Mt. St. Joe Tuesday evening before pulling away in the second half. Ed Amos had a big game scoring 22 points with 4 rebounds. He slashed to the basket with his quickness and was consistent the entire game. Shakir Brown scored 16 points with three rebounds and Dominique Spencer had 14 points and 8 boards.

The team misses Karrel Goines, who moved to Varsity and need to have another guard step up and take charge. Who will it be? To keep their unbeaten streak alive, someone will have to do it.

JV Boys	Points	Rebounds	Assists	Steals	Blocks
Amos	22	4	3	2	0
Forney	6	2	1	0	0
Brown, S.	16	3	2	3	0
Solomon	0	5	0	0	0
Miller	2	3	0	1	0
Williams	3	2	0	0	0
Collins	0	1	0	0	0
Spencer	14	8	1	1	2

LAKE CLIFTON DEFEATS #1 PANTHERS (Jan. 17th)

SFA Boys Varsity vs. Lake Clifton (@ Morgan State University)
Friday, January 17^th, 2009

It was the game everyone was waiting for….number one versus number two……city versus catholic….the battle for first place. The Morgan field house was packed and the teams were ready to play.

The Panthers came out sizzling and Wayne Sparrow was scorching scoring fourteen of the teams’ sixteen first quarter points and the Panthers were on top 16-8. The second quarter was more of the same and the Panthers took a 27-19 lead to the locker room. What happened next, no one knows, but Lake took the lead 40-36 going into the final period. Terrell Vinson and Wayne Sparrow kept the Panthers in the game but it was not enough as Lake won the game 63-54 and moved into the number one position in the Baltimore Sun Poll.

Wayne Sparrow finished with 28 points and 7 boards and was named the MVP of the Panthers. Terrell Vinson had another double-double with 16 points and 10 boards. Malik Kone added 6 points and 6 rebounds and R.J. Williams had 9 assists.

It could be that the Panthers thought they had the game won at halftime but they learned a valuable lesson….you have to play all four quarters to win the game.

Varsity Boys	Points	Rebounds	Assists	Steals
Vinson	16	10	2	0
Williams	2	3	9	0
Holmes	0	2	0	2
Sparrow	28	7	0	1
Lewis	0	3	1	0
Kone	6	6	0	0
Rogers	2	2	0	1
Goines	0	1	1	0

LADY PANTHERS CRUSH URSULINE, 75-37 (Jan. 17th)

SFA Girls vs. Ursuline Academy of Wilmington DE (Home)
Friday, January 17, 2009

While waiting for the evening’s match-up between number one St. Frances and number two, Lake Clifton, the lady Panthers gave fans a show. Ursuline Academy, from Delaware, had no answer for the Panther defense.

Leading the way with 22 points, 6 assists and 8 steals was our own “little mama” Shatyra Hawkes. Deanna Harmon had 13 and Tasia Bristow 11 with 5 assists and 4 boards. Everyone took a turn as the game turned into a laugher and the starters were rooting for their replacements to shoot and score.

SFA Girls	Points	Rebounds	Assists	Steals	Blocks
Hutchins	8	5	1	2	0
Hawkes	22	1	6	8	0
Harmon	13	1	2	3	0
Bristow	11	4	5	2	0
McClurkin	8	0	3	5	0
Benn	4	3	0	3	1
Ngobeny	6	5	0	2	3
Abiya	0	2	0	0	0
Evans	0	0	1	2	0
Tyson	2	1	0	0	0
Kassana	0	3	2	0	0
Scott	4	3	0	1	0
Brown	0	0	1	0	0