COLUMBUS – Americus-Sumter sophomore forward Deasia Ford scored 18 points to lead the Lady Panthers to a 45-37 Region 1-AAAA win over Columbus on Saturday, January 27.

This is the third-straight win for Americus-Sumter, after losing four-straight games.

With the win, the Lady Panthers improve to 17-5 overall and 7-4 in Region 1-AAAA play.

There were two other Lady Panthers in double-figures. Sophomore forward Brianna Pope scored 12 points and senior shooting guard Jykiera Long scored 11.

Columbus had two players in double-figures. Senior shooting guard Nasya Williams led the Lady Blue Devils (9-11, 4-7) with 13 points and senior forward Thallan Howard scored 11.

Americus-Sumter had to deal with the Blue Devils’ “twin towers” on the inside: 6-foot-2 freshman forward Enyshuan Jones and the 6-foot-1 Howard.

“Ford and Pope played their twin towers well”, ASH Head Coach Sherri Harris said. “We had three players in double-figures. We played well in our half-court offense once they made their run in the third quarter.”

Americus-Sumter led at the half 25-15. Long and Ford led the first-half offensive attack as they scored a combined 18 first-half points.  However, the Lady Blue Devils outscored ASH 17-7 in the third quarter. They were led by Williams, who scored nine of her game-high 13 points in the third quarter. All nine were on three-pointers. The teams were tied at 32-32 with one more quarter to play.

However, the Lady Panthers outscored Columbus 13-5 in the fourth quarter to earn the hard-fought win. Ford scored five of her game-high 18 points in the fourth quarter, including shooting 3-for-5 from the foul line in the fourth quarter.

The Lady Panthers are currently in third place in the region behind Westover and Carver.