French Camp girls basketball won twice last week, improving to 8-3 overall and 3-2 in Region 5-1A. The region record is important because only the top four of six teams will play in the region tournament and qualify for the 1A state tournament.The Lady Panthers defeated Nanih Waiya 45-32 and Noxapater 58-33. Neither game was ever close.French Camp jumped out to a 13-0 first quarter lead against Nanih Waiya. “We played some pretty tough defense,” said Coach Polly LeVert.Jasmine Bonty had 16 points and 12 rebounds, Jordan Carter 12 points and nine rebounds, and Grace Ann Wade scored 11 points.The same three were double-digit scorers against Noxapater — Bonty with 13 points and 14 rebounds, Carter 18 points, and Wade logged 10. They received support from Emma Wright with nine points and Taylor Benoit with eight.“We had some kids who stepped up and played well,” LeVert said. “I hope we're moving toward peaking at the right time.”BoysThe Panthers rebounded from a 50-39 loss to Nanih Waiya with a 76-41 victory over Noxapater. The results left French Camp fourth in the region at 1-3.“I feel like we can beat any team in the district,” said Coach Robert Leathers.French Camp led Nanih Waiya 19-18 at the half but was outscored 27-9 in the third quarter. Leathers attributed it to hot shooting by Nanih Waiya and defensive lapses by his team. “Top to bottom, Nanih Waiya is the most athletic team in the district,” said Leathers.C.J. Johnson scored 14 points for French Camp and Ethan Chesser had nine. Trey McMullan led Nanih Waiya with 17 points.French Camp led Noxapater 34-18 at the half, on the way to the Panthers' best offensive output of the season that included six 3-pointers in the second half. Darrion Smith scored 24 points, Johnson 19 and Chesser 10. Leathers said Ethan Wright and Macon Bentley also played well, especially on defense.French Camp played Ethel Tuesday and has home games with West Lowndes Friday. The regular season concludes next week with the home games against McAdams and road games with Nanih Waiya.The region tournament will be played at McAdams, beginning Feb. 8 for the girls and Feb. 9 for the boys.
