Jennings County High School

The Jennings County Lady Panthers hosted the Columbus East Lady Olympians on Thursday night in their final HHC matchup of the season, celebrating Senior Night along the way. The program honored seniors Riley Byford, Mollie Ernstes, Addiston Grunden, Ella Hubbard, Kaydence Lowman, Cecilia Toston, manager Ceirra Phillips, videographer Gabrielle Morin, and practice squad members Alex Brooks, Carter Hudson, Brandan McCory, and Zane Wienhorst. Jennings County capped the night in dominant fashion, rolling past Columbus East 71-33. Jennings County jumped out to a quick 15-4 lead over Columbus East and never looked back. A dominant defensive effort helped the Lady Panthers build a 32-13 advantage by halftime. Along the way, senior Mollie Ernstes etched her name further into the record books, passing Coach Kristi Sigler for second on the program’s all-time scoring list with a first-quarter basket. The Lady Panthers were just as dominant after halftime, extending their lead to 54-25 by the end of the third quarter and stretching the advantage to as many as 40 points in the fourth. Jennings County closed out the night with a commanding 71-33 victory. Mollie Ernstes led the Lady Panthers with 27 points, while Etta Young also turned in a strong performance with 18. Riley Byford added a double-figure effort, finishing with 12 points. Full Varsity Scoring Mollie Ernstes 27 Etta Young 18 Riley Byford 12 Kaydence Lowman 8 Addison Petro 4 Hailey Dunham 2 The junior varsity squad also earned a victory over the Lady Olympians, defeating Columbus East 41-32. Mookky Ratcliff led the way with 14 points. With the win, the Lady Panthers improved to 15-5 on the season and 5-1 in HHC play. The victory secured a share of the HHC conference title, marking the program’s third consecutive conference championship! Jennings County will return to action on Saturday, January 24, at 10 a.m. when they host North Central (Indianapolis) in a varsity-only matchup due to incoming snow.