By LaMar Gafford

Special to the American Press

HAMMOND — Northwood-Lena was in complete control of its Class 1A semifinal game against Merryville from the opening tip.

And that was bad news for the Panthers.

The No. 1-seeded Gators beat No. 4 Merryville 82-35 Tuesday at the University Center.

“We weren’t even supposed to be here,” Panthers head coach Stromy Fortenberry said. “But we fought hard and never gave up. I’m very proud of my girls.”

Merryville (26-7) struggled from the floor, shooting 30.4 percent, as it trailed 12-0 before making its first shot with 3:30 left in the first quarter.

Panthers sophomore Samantha Johnson had a team-high 10 points with six rebounds and senior Kailee Hickman had seven points and nine rebounds. Senior Hannah Burr made three 3-pointers and scored nine points.

“Our seniors — Hannah and Kailee — have been phenomenal leaders this year and they are going to be hard to replace,” Fortenberry said.

While Merryville struggled, the Gators thrived, shooting 50 percent and crashing the boards with 20 offensive rebounds.

Northwood junior Na’kiyah Allen had a game-high 21 points and added nine rebounds. Two Gators finished with double-doubles, senior Liyah Perry had 20 points and 10 rebounds while freshman Da’Zya Johnson added 10 points and 12 rebounds.

“Na’kiyah was extremely dominant today,” Gators coach Lashonda Cooper said. “We kept telling her, ‘You have to be in domination mode. Nobody can hold you under the goal.’”

The Gators (33-1) led 32-16 at halftime, but kicked their game to another gear by making 59.5 percent of their shots in the second half. Also helping matters was them outrebounding the Panthers, 45-27, and forcing 34 turnovers.

Fortenberry vowed the Panthers will learn from the experience.

“My girls continued to fight and do what we asked of them,” she said. “We are a young team and we plan on being back.”