Lady Panthers finish season strong
5th grade girls drive Hamilton Heights from the floor, 45-6; destroy Rossville, 49-0
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The Western Lady Panthers 5th grade girls basketball team may be the most dominating squad ever assembled in Howard County. For proof of that lofty claim, one only has to look at the final two games of the season.
Western hosted the girls of Hamilton Heights on March 6, but it appeared that only the Lady Panthers came to play. They dismantled the Huskies, 45-6, in a performance so overwhelming the Heights coach pulled the team from the floor with a little more than a minute left to play.
It was obvious from the start that Western had the contest under complete control. Star shooter Journie Johnson (45) scorched the nets for 33 points.
Two nights later, the Lady Panthers traveled to Rossville and put on a clinic for the host Lady Hornets. Western kept the competition off the scoreboard the entire night, winning 49-0.
Johnson again led her team with 22 points in a game that saw nearly every Western player score. She finished the season averaging 24 points a game.
This level of dominance was prevalent throughout the season. Originally scheduled for 15 games, a few teams declined to play Western after seeing how the Lady Panthers handled their competition. The girls finished their season 11-1 with just a single loss to Oak Hill on Jan. 28, and won the Howard County Tournament.
In the tourney, held on Feb. 4, the Lady Panthers dispatched Eastern, 41-6, with Johnson scoring 31 points. And Northwestern met a similar fate, falling 28-4 to Western. Johnson led all scorers with 18 points in that contest.
See more photos from the Western/Hamilton Heights game, along with a gallery of photos from the B squad contest on March 6, on the Kokomo Lantern’s Facebook page and group.