By Kevin Eckleberry

Sports Editor

Before a nearly packed house at Mariotti Gym, the LaGrange College basketball teams sent their seniors out in style Thursday night against Huntingdon.

In the women’s game, the Panthers pulled away in the second half for a 65-46 victory, giving seniors Ashley DeFreitas, Cameren Farr, Ashley Hoglund and Valeree Williams a victory in their final home game.

The Panthers closed the regular season at 18-7, giving them a school record for wins in a season.

In the men’s game, the Panthers (8-17) rallied from a six-point deficit in the second half to win 66-62 and close the regular season on a three-game winning streak.

It was the last home game for seniors Joe Cromwell and J.D. Hoglund.

In the women’s game, the Panthers secured the No. 2 seed for next weekend’s Great South Athletic Conference tournament.

The Panthers will likely play Piedmont in the semifinals, and a win there would probably set up a finals showdown with Maryville.

The conference winner earns an automatic invitation to the NCAA Division III tournament.

LaGrange College coach Mark Isenhour gives a lot of credit to the seniors for helping get the program to this point.

“I couldn’t have asked to inherit a group of better players,” said Isenhour, who took over the program before the 2007-2008 season. “They’re the winningest class in program history. They’ve done everything on the court and off the court the right way.”

Huntingdon (5-19) hung tough into the second half before LaGrange College took over.

The game was tied 36-36 when Heather Miller made a 3-pointer to jump start an 18-0 run.

By the time the run ended on a pair of Elizabeth Williams free throws with 6:55 left, the Panthers were up 54-36, and the game was effectively over.

“We started getting in a rhythm midway through the second half,” Isenhour said. “I think we were able to get a little more comfortable.”

Miller led the way with 20 points, while Holli Vann scored 16.

Katie Covington added 10 points, and Valeree Williams had seven rebounds.

The magic number now for the Panthers is 20.

If they reach 20 wins with two more victories, they’ll be in the NCAA tournament.

“We get to decide what we’re going to do,” Isenhour said. “That’s a nice thing to have happen. On the flipside, there are seven other teams that feel the same way.”

In Thursday’s men’s game, it took the Hawks more than 10 minutes to score their first points of the game as they fell behind 11-0, but they rallied to take a 24-22 lead at the half.

The Hawks came out strong in the second half, and they were up 38-32 with 13:05 left.

The Panthers weren’t going to be denied on senior night, though.

Cromwell tied it at 42-42 with a pair of free throws, and Cromwell and Clay Wages hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Panthers a 55-52 lead with 4:34 left.

The Panthers made nine-of-10 free throws in the closing minutes to hold off the Hawks.

Cromwell scored 16 points in his final home game, and Nic Whitfield also scored 16 points.

Marcus Vaughn had 10 rebounds.

The Panthers will be the third seed in the GSAC tournament, and they’ll face either Maryville or Piedmont in the semifinals.

PANTHER NOTE: Whitfield was recently named the GSAC player of the week for the second straight time.

In the week ending Feb. 14, Whitfield led the Panthers to a 2-0 record, with both wins on the road.

He averaged 21 points and 9.5 rebounds per game, and he made 65.4 percent of his shots.

He tied a career-high with 27 points in a GSAC win at Piedmont, and he had a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds in a win at Pensacola Christian.