2020 Basketball Previews
Elizabethtown Panthers
2019-2020 Record – 27-3
The 2019-2020 version of the Elizabethtown Panther basketball team was a very strange and exciting story which started out with plenty of cliffhangers and culminated in the team’s first 5th Region Championship since 2005. It was the way the book ended that left so many unanswered questions that no one could have possibly predicted. The possibility of another state championship in basketball was cancelled and then finally ended without any resolution. So where does the Panther program go from here? Head coach James Haire still has plenty to look forward to when the season begins losing four seniors, but returns nine upperclassman and plenty of shooting to go with it.
To say Elizabethtown will be top heavy in scoring would be an understatement as Haire will have plenty of bodies to run his high tempo attack. Senior shooter Jaquais Franklin led the team in scoring with 644-points, led the team in made three’s (54), shot 75% from the free throw line and also led the team in rebounds with 162. Camden Williams was second on the team with 391-points and 41 made three’s. Kia Sherrard scored 360-points (3rd on the team), while Jacob Moberly (145-points) and Kam Sherrard (110-points) are not far behind. Alandre Murphy (269-points) is a scorer and a main part of the Panthers pressing defense. Clay Games, Cameran McNeil and Gage Sondergard will get minutes as well.
Because so many of the Elizabethtown starters play football, Haire has will have to wait until the football playoffs come to an end before he will be able to have his team practicing and playing at full force. There’s no question the Panthers will be out to finish buisness the right way and finally add a happy ending to that story.
Elizabethtown Lady Panthers
2019-2020 Record : 27-6
The 5th Region Championship game and Elizabethtown Girls Basketball always seems to have a familiar ring. The Lady Panthers have been a participant every year since 2014 and have won it five times during that period, but last season might have been one of the most impressive as head coach Donnie Swineyhad to deal with injuries involving key starters during the early part of the season and managed to put together another championship year which culminated with a Region Title win over Bethlehem at Thomas Nelson High school.
This season the goal remains the same, but with a different cast of characters. The Lady Panthers graduated close to 80% of their scoring and players like Whitney Hay, Ellie Taylor and Sydney Clark will be suiting up on college teams, while Swiney will have to plug in a few more new faces into the starting lineup. Senior Kayla Freeman will move on as one of the returning starters after scoring 328-points and hitting 88-three pointers. Sophomore Brookyn Cann could step in at the other guard spot and Presley Payne should get more times as well. Eighth grader Leah Macy could split time at guard and forward this season and sophomore Sarah Clark could play another forward spot. Kiarah Dornan should see playing time as well this season.
The Lady Panthers are scheduled to start the season on December 1st @ Nelson County. Despite constant changes over the years, Elizabethtown is always in the mix for the Region Final and until something changes, that should be the case again.
