The Lady Panthers continued their District 4(3A) slide Friday night as they couldn't complete a comeback attempt and fell at home to Maryville 44-27.

"I felt like we played really, really hard defensively," Lenoir City Head Coach Joe Lee said after the game.  However, the Lady Panthers couldn't muster enough offense to hang with the Lady Rebels.
Lenoir City managed just three points in the first quarter and struggled with Maryville's half court defense.  "I was shocked they didn't press," Lee said.  "I really wanted them to press because I think we would've gotten more open looks in transition."

Instead, it was a slow paced, low scoring game that Maryville took control of early on.
The Lady Rebels grabbed an early lead, but three straight points by Shannon Parks brought the Lady Panthers to within one at 4-3 with 5:15 left in the first.  Maryville, however, closed out the quarter with eight straight points, holding Lenoir City scoreless, and the Lady Rebels took a 12-3 lead to the second.

Kara Steil got the first points of the second quarter as she drained a three, but Carrie Goodson answered almost immediately with a three of her own.  Maryville scored the next five straight points, building a 20-6 advantage with 3:30 left in the first half.
Parks broke the run with a pair of free throws, but Megan Jenkins came right back with a trey to keep Maryville up 15.

After a series of failed possessions, Steil lined up a three and drained it at the buzzer.  The Steil trey sent the teams to the locker rooms with Maryville ahead 23-11.

The Lady Rebels opened the second half with seven straight points, but couldn't put Lenoir City away.  Catherine Hunley opened the scoring for the hosts with a three from the right side of the arc and then Taylor Robinson hit a pair of free throws.  Tyler Powers followed that up with a layup and, after a Jenkins three, Parks hit a jumper in the lane to complete the 9-3 Lenoir City run.

The stretch brought the Lady Panthers back to within 13 at the end of three.
The first half of the fourth quarter was scoreless and it was Steil who broke up the defensive struggle with a three.  Maryville answered with a layup, but Dawn Radford and Parks hit shots in the lane to cut the gap to eight at 35-27.

That's as close as the Lady Panthers would get, however, as Maryville closed out the game outscoring the hosts 9-0.
Steil led the Lady Panthers with nine points.

The Lady Panthers visited Loudon Saturday night and will be back in action Monday night at Bearden.  They'll host Sequoyah for senior night Tuesday.
Game time for both games is set for 6:30 p.m.