Lady Panthers fall to Thomas County

The Starr’s Mill girls’ basketball team concluded their 2012/13 season with the second most wins in the program’s history after finishing 17-10.

On Feb. 19 the girls made a 4 hour trip to Thomas County to play Thomas County Central in the first round of the state playoffs. Starr’s Mill trailed 12-6 early on, but fought back and tied the game in the 4th quarter. Starr’s Mill was down by three in the waning seconds and had 2 three pointers rattle out, losing 36-33. Danielle Garcia paced the Panthers with 13 points, three steals and two blocks and Katie Wilson had 12 points and three assists. Jenna Ricker led the Panthers with eight rebounds.
Juniors Katie Wilson and Danielle Garcia were both named to the 4-AAAA All-Region team and they return next year along with 7 other girls. They will no doubt be joined by several call-ups from Starr’s Mill’s undefeated JV team and they expect another strong season under the leadership of head coach Shane Ratliff and assistant Emily Woodward.
The Lady Panthers finished third in the region and qualified for the State tournament for only the second time in the school’s history after beating Union Grove in a surprisingly close defensive struggle.

By Nick Garcia
Special to the Citizen