Jennings County High School

The Jennings County Lady Panthers traveled to Charlestown High School for the Regional championship game against Class 3A No. 2 Silver Creek. Jennings County took down Silver Creek 62-51, capturing their first Regional title since 1993! The Lady Panthers started strong, sprinting to an 18-9 advantage after one quarter. Mollie Ernstes ignited the early surge, scoring 11 first-quarter points and drilling a shot just before the buzzer to stretch the lead to nine. Strong defensive play set the tone in the opening half, with Jennings County holding Silver Creek to just 18 first-half points. That defensive pressure allowed the Lady Panthers to head into halftime with a 25-18 advantage. A huge third quarter from Riley Byford helped the Lady Panthers create even more separation, as Jennings County pushed their advantage to 42-28 heading into the final period. The Lady Panthers stretched the lead to as many as 20 in the fourth quarter, but Silver Creek refused to back down, storming back with a 13-0 run to trim the deficit to just seven. As the pressure mounted, Etta Young stepped up with a pivotal three-point play to halt the run. Soon after, Addison Petro converted another and-one with about a minute to go, helping the Lady Panthers close out a hard-fought 62-51 win. The Lady Panthers were led by Mollie Ernstes, who scored 29 points. Riley Byford added 12 points. Full Scoring Mollie Ernstes 29 Riley Byford 12 Addison Petro 9 Etta Young 8 Kaydence Lowman 3 Aniston Kent 1 The Lady Panthers will be back in action on Saturday, February 21, competing in a four-team Semi-State that also features Roncalli, Washington, and Northview. The site and matchups will be announced during the Semi-State Pairings Show at 2 p.m. Sunday on ihsaatv.org.