AMERICUS – The Americus-Sumter Lady Panthers suffered a 51-55 defeat at the hands of the Baibridge Lady Bearcats on Jan. 3. The loss marks the Americus girls’ first defeat of the season, breaking an impressive 13 game winning streak. The team is left with a 13-1 overall record and a 7-1 region record for the season. The Lady Bearcats left the boards with a 10-3 overall record and a 5-1 region record.

Both teams got a slow start in the match with the Lady Bearcats outscoring the Lady Panthers 9-4 in the first quarter. The Americus shooters heated up in the second frame to narrow the gap to one point, entering the half-time break trailing 22-23.

Americus took the lead at the end of the third, posting 14 points and holding Bainbridge to 12. The Lady Bearcats would not give up, however. The team rallied to retake the lead in the final stanza. Bainbridge had their most productive frame at the final, putting 20 points on the board while their strong defensive play held the Lady Panthers to 15.

The Lady Panthers will attempt to begin another streak, returning to action in Montezuma on Jan. 6 to face the Macon County Lady Bulldogs.