Paradise guard Renlee Longenbaugh led the Lady Panthers (21-4, 4-0) with 15 points in a 64-36 District 10-3A home win over Ponder Friday. MIKE HALL | FOR THE MESSENGER
Paradise senior Renlee Longenbaugh is no stranger to playing in rivalries on the court. The veteran guard and 2025 4A Division I state champion with Decatur used her experience to her new team’s advantage in the Lady Panthers’ first 10-3A clash against Ponder Friday night.
Longenbaugh stepped up to help Paradise (21-4, 4-0) shake off its cold start, scoring a team-high 15 points in a 64-36 home win against the Lady Lions.
“It was a great team win — we knew what we had to do, and Coach [Michael] Barnes prepared us,” Longenbaugh said. “We didn’t let the rivalry or any outside noise affect our game. We went out there and did what we were supposed to do, took care of business and came out with a win. We needed that because it’s going to be a lot harder when we go over to their place to play them again.”
Despite a change in jerseys in her final season, Longenbaugh brings her pinpoint-accurate 3-point shooting to a team loaded with sharpshooters. Longenbugh drilled three 3-pointers, as the Lady Panthers totaled a dozen baskets behind the line in the victory.
“From a coaching standpoint, we want to get the ball up the court and hit the open shots,” Coach Barnes said. “We’ve been averaging about seven or eight 3-pointers per game — when we get our feet set, we’re pretty good ball shooters. We’ve got six or seven gitls that can light it up from the outside.”
Ponder started the game on a 6-2 lead, limiting Paradise to just a pair of free throws by the sisterly guard duo of Hartley Barnes and Jayci Barnes. Longenbaugh put the Lady Panthers ahead with back-to-back 3-pointers win the span of 57 seconds, while a Lainey Munden free throw gave Paradise a 3-point lead.
The advantage was short-lived, as Ponder senior post Kennedy Simon launched a half-court short that fell through the net at the buzzer, tying the game at 9.
“Just like in any big rivalry game, you can get nervous,” Coach Barnes said. “Right before the took the floor, I told them to not let the game bigger than it is. After the first 8 minutes, it was just liek the game started over. We figured it out from there.”
The Lady Panthers’ offense sparked in the second quarter, led by a 6-point frame by sophomore guard Allie McCormick. Paradise limited Ponder to a pair of field goals and three free throws on an 18-7 run, and held a 27-16 lead at the break.
Paradise freshman guard Hartley Barnes dropped three 3-pointers in the third quarter and finished with 14 points in a 64-36 rivalry win over Ponder Friday. MIKE HALL | FOR THE MESSENGER
Paradise came out of the locker room on fire from deep. Freshman Hartley Barnes nailed a trio of 3-point baskets in just over a 3-minute span to cap off the Lady Panthers’ 11-3 run.
Hartley Barnes was second in scoring behind Longenbaugh with 14 points in her first rivalry battle against Ponder.
“We started off slow, but we knew what we had to do in the second quarter,” she said. “We came out with a lot of energy after halftime after we all had a talk, and we knew we had to knock down out shots and distribute the ball better. After I hit my first 3, I just kept building off of that.”
From there, Longenbaugh and guards Mackie McQueen and Vivian Caddell closed out the frame with one 3-pointer each, as Paradise outscored the Lady Lions 22-13 in the third quarter to build up a 20-point advantage — 49-29.
With a sizable lead in hand, the Lady Panthers quenched any hope of a Ponder comeback in the final 8 minutes by closing the contest on a 15-7 drive.
Caddell and McCormick also turned in double-digit scoring performances, finishing with 11 each.
The Lady Panthers hit the road for a league battle against Pilot Point Tuesday, and will return home to host the first 10-3A Battle of Texas 114 rivalry game against Boyd Jan. 16. Both games are slated for 6:15 p.m. tip-offs.
“We’re going to celebrate this one tonight, but we’re refocused on Pilot Point when we get back in here during fourth period [Monday],” Coach Barnes said. “We’ll have a fundamental day on Wednesday, work on some things we’ve caught on the film, and then prepare hard Thursday and Friday for Boyd. No team is unbeatable, and we’re looking at the other teams as faceless opponents — we’re going to go play the game that we’re blessed to be able to play, and we’re going to play hard, whatever the outcome is at that point. So far, the outcome’s been pretty good.”
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