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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

BIRMINGHAM – It wasn’t easy, but the Pelham Panthers showed their resolve to beat the Shades Valley Mounties in overtime, 52-50, in their season opener on Saturday, Nov. 4 at Parker High School.

Sophomore Tiauna King had a massive day for the Panthers with 26 points, five rebounds and five steals to help secure the season-opening win.

Defensively, however, Pelham got off to an uncharacteristic start in the debut to the new season.

Shades Valley outscored Pelham 20-16 in the first quarter with 10 points from Angela Williams to give the Mounties the lead.

The second quarter was lower scoring and more closely fought as the teams settled into the game.

The Panthers found their defensive pressure in the period and outscored the Mounties 7-6 to cut the deficit to five going into the locker room, as Shades Valley held a slim 26-23 advantage at the half.

Pelham kept chipping away at the Shades Valley lead by making the gap just 36-34 going into the fourth quarter thanks to five points by Karma Wynn in the third quarter.

In the final quarter, the Panthers continued their comeback as King scored six more points and Gerren Ingram added five for her first points of the game to tie the game at 46 and send it to overtime.

In overtime, Pelham worked its way to the free throw line and knocked down the shots  needed to grab the lead. Wynn made four free throws and King made two more, which helped the Panthers complete the comeback win by a final score of 52-50.

In addition to King’s team-high 26 points, Wynn had 14 points and Ingram and Alayna Noble both scored five points.