LAGRANGE, Ga. — The Averett University women's basketball team was unable to redeem itself after falling behind early in the first half of a 62-47 conference loss to LaGrange College on Saturday afternoon.
 
LaGrange (9-5, 4-1 USA South) went on a 10-0 run early in the game to lead Averett 13-5. Things started to look up for the Cougars when junior guard Jessica Myers notched two 3-pointers to put Averett (4-7, 2-3 USA South) within four points at the 6:47 mark. Myers finished with eight points, all of which came in the first half. 
 
The Cougars found themselves stuck in another rut after missing nine consecutive baskets as the Panthers continued to sink shots going into halftime with a 31-18 advantage.
 
Though Averett had seven fewer turnovers and outrebounded LaGrange on the offensive boards 17-6 with multiple second-chance opportunities, they couldn't pass the Panthers who managed sank 13 of 16 field goals to shoot 81 percent in the second half by capitalizing off high-percentage shots in the lane. Forty of the Panthers' points came from inside the paint.
 
LaGrange's Kymberli Payno led all scorers with 12 points in 13 minutes of play after being forced to sit out for the majority of the first half because of early foul trouble.
 
Sophomore forward Alexis Sollars led Averett with 10 points and five rebounds, and sophomore forward Brianna Taylor added eight points and six rebounds.
 
The Cougars head to Alabama on Sunday where they will look to get a conference win against Huntingdon College at 3 p.m.