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By LAUREN SEXTON | Sports Reporter

BIRMINGHAM – In its third consecutive appearance in the Sweet 16, the Pelham Panthers advanced to the Elite Eight for the second year in a row after pulling away with a 54-40 victory over the Northridge Jaguars at the Birmingham CrossPlex on Friday, Feb. 17.

“We came out and played hard on defense and rebounded the ball very well,” Pelham head coach Crosby Morrison said. “We had a lot of turnovers, some miscues on offense, but we’re going to go back to what we do best and playing defense. They did a good job.” 

It was a back-and-forth battle early between the two, as both struggled to post any points in the first several minutes of the opening quarter. The Panthers, however, picked the lead with four minutes remaining and carried it into the second quarter.

Tiauna King posted six out of Pelham’s 12 points in the first quarter, while Laci Gogan knocked down one basket outside the arc. Karma Wynn tacked on two points.

Going into the second quarter with a 12-6 lead, Pelham continued to increase separation after limiting Northridge. The Jaguars failed to post any points until the final five minutes of the half. 

Northridge fell short of a comeback and Pelham led 24-14 going into the break.

Gogan went two for two and knocked down four points from two field goals. King and Wynn knocked down a single free throw, while King and Kaitlyn Hollingsworth posted two points each in the paint.

Returning from the break, a determined Northridge posted 12 points, while limiting Pelham to two points in the first four minutes of the second half. Tied 26-26, Gogan broke the tie shortly after and the Panthers never looked back from there with their strong defensive effort.

Niles Daniel pulled away with six points from three field goals in the third quarter 

Entering the final period with a 40-30 lead, the Panthers mirrored their first-half defensive performance and limited the Jaguars to no more than four points with less than two minutes remaining of the game. 

That allowed Pelham to pull away down the stretch to close out the 14-point victory.

Gogan knocked down five free throws and a single two-pointer, while King posted four points from a field goal and two free throws. Wynn tacked on three points.

“We’re going to keep working to our goal,” Morrison said. “Our goal at the very beginning of the season and losing in the final quarter last year was to make it back to the BJCC, make it back to Legacy arena, and play for a championship. We’re just going to go to work. We got a long wait until the next game. We’re going to get to work and have a game plan ready for Hillcrest.”

Gogan was Pelham’s leading scorer with 18 points and four rebounds, while King followed Gogan with 15 points and two rebounds. Wynn posted eight points and four rebounds, Daniel tacked on six points and five rebounds. 

Pelham will face Hillcrest in the Elite Eight on Wednesday, Feb. 22.