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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

CHEROKEE, N.C. – The Pelham Panthers were the lone Alabama representatives in the Cherokee Invitational Girls Varsity Bracket at Harrah’s Cherokee Resort in North Carolina, but they picked up a couple of wins while testing their skills against teams from throughout the Southeast.

Pelham secured third place in the Cherokee Invitational with a 45-39 win over the Northwest Guilford Rams out of North Carolina and a 64-12 victory over the Gibbs Gladiators from Florida. The Panthers also lost in the semifinals to Georgia’s Newton Rams by a score of 57-46 in between those results.

It was a tight game out of the gate in the tournament opener against Northwest Guilford. Tee King led the way thanks to five points in the first, including a 3-for-3 stretch from the free throw line. The teams were tied up at 9-9 at the end of the quarter, but Pelham changed that shortly after.

King knocked down four shots in the second to score eight points and get herself into double figures. She joined offensive contributions from Janiah Harris, Hannah Bankston and Taylor Hollingsworth to outscore Northwest Guilford 13-8 in the second and take a 22-17 lead into the break.

The Panthers continued to keep the Vikings at an arm’s length in the third quarter. King once again led the offense with a balanced scoring effort, adding seven points to her total around the court.

However, Northwest Guilford started firing from deep, hitting its first two 3-pointers of the night. The Vikings scored just seven points in the third as Pelham extended its lead to 33-24 at the end of the quarter, but it set the stage for a strong finish on the offensive end.

Northwest Guilford scored 15 points in the fourth as five different scorers hit shots and Georgia Lewis scored seven of those points.

The Panthers responded by locking in from the free throw line as King knocked down each of her final four free throws. She and Hollingsworth were a combined 7-for-12 from the charity stripe as they helped their team put away the six-point victory.

King finished the game with 28 points, three rebounds and three steals. Bankston had four points and four rebounds and Harris scored four points and secured six rebounds. Ally Barfield earned four points and three rebounds in the win.

Pelham took that momentum into its semifinal matchup with Newton but was met by a stiff test.

The Panthers had a slow offensive start as they couldn’t get the rest of the offense other than King involved, leading to a 14-5 deficit at the end of the first quarter.

That would soon change as Pelham got shots to fall from more shooters in the second quarter and had more success from deep in the third and fourth quarters.

The Panthers outscored the Rams 12-7 in the third and trailed 40-29 going into the fourth but couldn’t close the gap any more than that after a high-scoring fourth quarter between both teams didn’t go in Pelham’s favor.

King led the way with 17 points, six rebounds and four steals, Bankston scored 10 points and earned four rebounds, Barfield had nine points and three rebounds and Hollingsworth finished with six points and three rebounds.

Pelham had a chance to finish the tournament on a high note in the third-place game against Gibbs, and its defense took charge in a complete performance from the entire team.

The Panthers surrendered just three points in the opening quarter and seven points in the entire first half, giving the offense a chance to take a commanding lead in the game.

Five different scorers combined for 16 points in the first quarter, and that gave way to a big second quarter from King and Hollingsworth.

After King scored five in the first and Hollingsworth hit a 3-pointer, King knocked down four 3-pointers and scored 16 points in the second while Hollingsworth added seven points to get into double figures as well.

Pelham took a 42-7 lead into halftime as a result and only built on that in the second half.

The offensive pace slowed down in the third quarter but the 3-pointers kept falling as Hollingsworth, King and Barfield each hit a deep shot.

The defense continued to follow suit and surrendered just four points in the third. The effort only intensified in the fourth despite the result being very much decided as the Panthers allowed just a single point in the final eight minutes.

Pelham then put the finishing touches on a 64-12 victory on the offensive end to finish out the tournament with a win.

King dropped 28 points, six steals and four assists while Hollingsworth scored 13 points and Barfield had 11 points and three assists. Shea Gallagher also scored five points and earned three rebounds in the tournament finale.

The Panthers will take a 10-7 record into Christmas break and return in the new year with an afternoon tilt against the Calera Eagles on Thursday, Jan. 2 at noon at Pelham High School.