Unless you were there, you

wouldn't believe it.

After winning their first

official games of the season against Salem Friday, the

Starr's Mill Panthers traveled to McIntosh High School

Saturday night, adding fuel to the growing rivalries

between the boys and girls basketball teams.

Both games went into

overtime and both teams had chances to escape with the

win, but the Chiefs and Lady Chiefs came out on top.

The game between the Lady

Chiefs and the Lady Panthers began with McIntosh jumping

out to an early lead of 9-3 at the end of the first

quarter. Both teams were rebounding great, they were just

having trouble scoring. "We were content to stay

outside McIntosh's zone and take outside shots,"

said Lady Panthers Coach Teresa Hobbs. "That's not

really our strength."

Starr's Mill shot two of 25

from the floor in the first half and McIntosh went into

the half with a 15-7 lead. The two teams improved on

their problems in the second half and Starr's Mill

battled back, shooting 13 of 25 from the second half.

With 30 seconds left in the game, it was tied 31-31.

That was the way regulation

ended, leading the two teams into the first of many

overtimes on the night. The foul line was a blessing for

the Lady Chiefs, who shot 17 of 25 from the line, and a

burden for the Lady Panthers, who shot four of 21 from

the line.

"That was probably the

best game we played defensively in three years,"

said McIntosh's Coach Steve Kidd. "We didn't allow

them to score on the inside, we did well on the boards

and we hit the foul shots when we needed to."

The Lady Chiefs struck

first in overtime with a lay up by Jessi Prahl. Prahl was

the Lady Chiefs' leading scorer, netting 13 points and

pulling down 13 rebounds. Both teams made it to the foul

line on their next possessions and missed both shots.

Britte Hardy made her next

two foul shots, but Starr's Mill struck back with two

quick baskets. McIntosh's Erin Fisher nailed a jumper and

two jump shots on their next possession to give the Lady

Chiefs a 39-35 lead. Starr's Mill hit one of their next

two foul shots and Whitney Wallis of the Lady Chiefs

connected on both of her foul shots with 13 seconds left,

sealing the 41-36 victory.

Then the evening got

intense. The Panthers came out looking crisp. They moved

the ball well, took high percentage shots and built a

17-12 lead at the end of the first quarter. A minute and

a half later their lead was 10; a minute and a half later

McIntosh had cut it