Dudley due, as the Panthers look to come through vs. Forestview

This title came out so good and I hit it in about 10 seconds, so I am going to let this title sit here for a few, till I come up with something new, to go with it and it should be as good as, if not better than the headline.

It doesn’t take long to get the full feel for the Forestview Jaguars, the team the Dudley Panthers will be facing on Saturday afternoon at 5 PM at the Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh.

Dudley only knows two speeds; fast and faster. The Panther women run at a pace that most casual observers could not handle. Coach Kris Britton has found an overdrive gear and that is speed at which her ladies operate.

Dudley starts out fast and then they get faster. It is almost like that song they play over at the Dudley baseball games. You can substitute the Shout with Run and you get that old tune yelling a little Faster Now. Run, a little bit Faster Now, hey a little bit Faster Now, hey-hey-hey-hey, a little Faster Now…..

And you get the picture.

Helen Terry, Breonna Patterson, Jessica Farr and Porsha Roach like to run and they will go a little Faster Now as the game moves on. They run the break and then here comes the secondary break running right in behind them.

On defense Dudley plays the same way. Apply the pressure to set up the break-out run on offense. Press-Steal-Run, a little bit Faster Now.

On Saturday Dudley will have to slow down long enough to check #5 Shannon Smith real close and the Panthers will have to play her very honest and keep a tight reign on her. Smith comes in averaging 26.1 points per game. You’ll have to get a feel for Forestview and find Smith as soon as she gets off of the bus. Southview out of Fayetteville had a girl like this a couple of years when they played Grimsley in the Title game, named Amber Calvin.

Smith must be a top priority for the Panthers. To go along with the 26.1 points oer game she is dishing out 6.7 assists per game. She has scored 810 points on the season and converted 165-211 free throws for 78% at the line. Smith is 79-227 from 3-point range. She must be stopped or you have to at least try and slow her down as much as you can.

Elsewhere for Gastonia Forestview there’s Kelsey Harris hitting for 17.6 ppg and she has scored 546 points on 215-461 shooting from the field. Harris is also averaging 7.1 rebounds per game. Ashley Pratt is scoring at a 10.0 ppg pace for the Jaguars and she is collecting 7.3 rebounds per contest.

As you can see the Panthers will need to bring an extra blanket to throw on #5 Shannon Smith on Saturday.

For Dudley there is none better in Guilford County than Helen Terry. Helen has been averaging right at 19.6 points per game in the playoffs and she has been pretty much at that clip all year long. Breonna Patterson hits for nearly 14 points per game for the Panthers and Jessica Farr is right there with her backcourt mates on the Faster/Faster Now break. Desiree Drayton and Khadejah Wilkerson are young, but they are excellent inside players for the Panthers.

Dudley must crank it up and get ready for Shannon Smith and then the Panthers will be ready to celebrate along with the Northern Guilford Nighthawks come Saturday evening.

I have given you a pretty good forecast here, and we must say again, Good Luck to the Panthers in the State Champoinship game.

3 thoughts on “Dudley due, as the Panthers look to come through vs. Forestview

  1. Dudley won 60-58. We are the best. No recruiting, just Kris Britton’s superb coaching. Yeah….

  2. No AAU recruiting and no cheap forearm shots to opposing players’ faces either. Just good, clean basketball from The BEST athletic program in NC.

    CONGRATS Dudley Ladies for bringing the hardware back to SE Greensboro!!

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