Women's Basketball | 11/13/2017 12:43:00 PM

Box Score Goodwell, Okla.—Last week the Panhandle State men's and women's basketball teams opened their seasons at home with games Thursday and Friday in Anchor D Arena at the Oscar Williams Field House. The men's team gathered two wins in back-to-back matchups with Champion Christian on Thursday (87-82) and Friday (79-73), and the women defeated Langston (57-51) for the second time this season.

Sophomore Jaedon Whitfield came through with two double-double performances against Champion, gathering 38 rebounds and 33 points over the two-game stint. He held game-highs for rebounds in both contests, totaling 15 boards on Thursday and 23 on Friday. Jace Kerr, also a sophomore for the Aggies, turned in a series-high of 34 points in game one against the Warriors; Kerr went 13-18 at the line and totaled 13 points in game two. Freshman DK Sumo topped the team in scoring on Friday, with 20 points including two three-point baskets. Chandler Bryer was clutch beyond the arc hitting on five of seven three-point attempts in the series.

Over the two-game stretch, both teams totaled 23 points off turnovers and saw strong efforts off the bench. The Aggies accumulated 28 bench points led by freshman Thomas Ellis who totaled 11 points and came down with 12 rebounds against the Warriors; Champion Christian combined for 23 bench points in the series. The Aggies averaged a 40 percent field goal percentage and shot 68 percent from the line and 42 percent beyond the arc.

With a 3-1 record on the season, Head Coach Jerry Olson was happy with the two wins. "Overall, we played with a lot of effort; we just still make a lot of mistakes. I did not think we played well at all on Thursday but Jace and Jaedon's efforts gave us the lift we needed to win." He continued on Whitfield's defensive performance stating, "Jaedon might be the best rebounder in the country right now. His effort on the boards is unbelievable." Olson also offered comments on the opponents adding, "I gotta give credit to Champion Christian for plugging away and hanging in there."

The Aggie women's team gave fans an exciting forty-minute display on Friday evening, coming from behind after the half to claim a fourth period victory over Langston. After leading the first period 16-15, the Aggies found themselves down by ten (45-35) at the end of the third. They came back to outscore the Lions 22-6 in period four. Two threes from Monti Regier and six-of-six free throw shots by Addison Munsch (4) and Shambri Kelso (2) added twelve of those points.

Panhandle State struggled with ball security throughout the game, giving up 23 points on 28 turnovers to the Lions. Strong efforts at the boards helped the Aggies gain ten second-chance points with sophomore Addison Munsch landing a game-high of 11 rebounds (four offensive). Munsch earned the double-double, scoring a team-high of 15 points and went 6-6 at the line. Junior Monti Regier had a hot shot beyond the arc, taking all twelve of her points on threes. Off the bench, Tierra Roberson led the team with eight points and seven rebounds. Morgan Latta contributed a high of three assists and had two steals and one block in the game.

Undefeated at 4-0 women's head coach Victor Esparza liked the grit his team exhibited throughout the game, "It was battle from the beginning, and we knew it was going to be tough game. It was great to see our fight and effort especially in the fourth quarter. Even when things weren't going our way we found a way to battle back from a ten-point deficit. Our defense is what is carrying us right now and we have to continue to defend like we have been for the first four games."  

Both coaches are extremely pleased with the crowd turnout thus far and give credit to the fans for creating energy to fuel their teams during down times. "Our fans were amazing, they really helped us the fourth quarter to get over the hump and come out on top.  We want to make this one of the toughest places to play and we can't do it without all of our fans," Esparza added.

Aggie Basketball is back on-court in Anchor D Arena with three games this week. The women take on Northern New Mexico Monday at 6 p.m. and the men's team competes Tuesday at 8 p.m. against Barclay College and Saturday at 7 p.m.