The Spring Garden Panthers outscored visiting Bowdon, Ga., by 14 points in the second quarter Saturday and defeated the Red Devils 55-35.

The Panthers led only 14-13 after one quarter but were up 32-17 at halftime and led by as many as 25 in the second half.

Nine Panthers scored against Bowdon. Tara Mullinax led with 25 points. Kelsey Turner scored seven points, Lynley Crabb six points and Heather Smart five.

Jordan Sides and Katie Rickman each had three points while Shelby Malone, Haley Motes and Auburn Kirk had two points each.

Spring Garden played at Gaston Tuesday and is scheduled to host Collinsville Friday. Both are Class 1A, Area 12 contests.

Gaston holds a solid lead in the race for the regular season area championship, and the host role for the area tournament in February.

Spring Garden coach Ricky Austin still considers the game one of significance.

"It's very important that we be more competitive with them than we were the first time, just to prove something to ourselves," Austin said.

"We've got to learn how to play over there."

Austin also considers Collinsville, a winner over a good Asbury team, an important game.

"It's a game that we're going to have to approach with a lot of caution," he said.

Building on the momentum gained in the second half of an overtime loss to Villa Rica, Ga., Spring Garden defeated Cherokee County 45-31 on Dec. 30 to finish in third place in the Haralson County tournament at Tallapoosa, Ga. Cherokee County led 11-9 after one quarter but Spring Garden was ahead at halftime, 22-19, and kept the lead in the second half.

"Villa Rica was such a frantic defensive team, we seemed like we were a lot more in control on offense," said Panthers coach Ricky Austin of the Cherokee County game. "I liked the way we played, with a wanting to win attitude."

Tara Mullinax scored 22 points to lead Spring Garden.

Katie Rickman had eight points and Kelsey Turner scored seven points. Jordan Sides added four points and Shelby Malone and Heather Smart each had two points.

On Dec. 29, Villa Rica edged the Panthers 37-35 on a last second basket in overtime.

Spring Garden trailed 24-11 after three quarters. In the fourth quarter, the Panthers went on a 20-7 run, capped by Sides' running jumper with six seconds remaining that sent the game into overtime.

Mullinax led Spring Garden with 19 points, 15 after the halftime break. Sides scored eight points, all in the fourth quarter.