Oakwood PANTHERS
TAYLOR HONEA Sports Writer sports @ palestineherald . com
The Oakwood Panthers and Lady Panthers continued their successful ways throughout the basketball season of 2023-24 , as both teams qualified for the playoffs , reminiscent of the Oakwood football and volleyball seasons .
The Lady Panthers tested themselves early in the season with tough competition , finishing with just a 4-5 record through their first nine games . The Lady Panthers picked up their game during the district schedule , turning in a 9-3 district record to boost their season ’ s record to 13 -8. The Panthers finished as the third seed in the district standings , setting up a playoff meeting with Jonesboro . The Lady Panthers would fall to the Eagles , 42-34 .
The Lady Panthers will have a new look next year , as leading scorer Jacee Youngblood will be graduating with the class of 2024 . Oakwood will also be losing their second leading scorer , Rai ’ Miaya Winston . The two seniors combined to score 32 of Oakwood ’ s average 43 points per game .
But for a 1A school , the Oakwood Lady Panthers
basketball team was quite sizable this year , and they will return six of 10 players from this year ’ s squad next season .
The Oakwood Panthers also found themselves in the playoffs this year , posting an 11-18 overall record , 5-7 within district play .
The Panthers showed their grit in the final regular season game of the year , coming into the game tied with the Bynum Bulldogs at 4-7 within district play , setting up a winner take all showdown for the final playoff spot . The resilient Panthers went on to win the game by 17 points , 61 – 44 .
Like the Westwood Panthers , the Oakwood Panthers have their own phenomenal freshman in Dayton Velasquez , who led the team with 10 points a game . Velasquez has shown tremendous upside athletically in his freshman season . He , along with sophomore duo Darreion Thomas and Nick Strickland , will be key members to not only the basketball team , but Oakwood athletics as a whole for the next two to three years .
However , the Panthers will be losing two of their top scoring options next season in Jarvis Jones and Jackson Ballard , who combined to score 15 points per game in the 2023 – 24 season , and will be tough to replace .
The Oakwood basketball program should be in position to have another strong run into the playoffs next year , and are benefited by having a strong coaching culture led by Panthers Head Basketball Coach Thomas Tritz and Athletics Director J . J . Johnson . The two men , along with coach Shawnta Knox on the girls side , continue to build Oakwood to new heights , and have the student-athletes needed to continue to build the program .
16 SPRING EDITION 2024