By Austin Franklin | Special to the Advertiser

The Jemison Panthers girls basketball team easily maneuvered past the Maplesville Red Devils 48-8 on Tuesday in the first round in the Chilton County Basketball Tournament, as Maplesville had no answer and quickly found themselves outmatched defensively.

Center Cassani Steele led the way for Jemison, and led all scoring with 14 points.

The Panthers pressured Maplesville at all times, effectively suffocating any Maplesville attack. In fact, the defensive assault from Jemison almost shut down the Maplesville offense entirely.

At the end of the first quarter the Panthers led15-0.

It was not until a contested three-pointer from Shaveon Dunlap with 1:29 left in the first half that Maplesville managed to get on the scoreboard. By that point Jemison had extended its lead to 24-3, and hope of a comeback was minimal.

Any momentum the Red Devils hoped to extract from Dunlap’s three-pointer quickly dissipated as Jemison’s Karmen Mims and Maria Arbarca scored on fast breaks soon thereafter.

At the half the Panthers led 28-3.

Coming out of the break, Jemison’s defense continued to thwart the Maplesville offense on every possession.

The Panthers offense largely operated in the paint and revolved around Steele. Her post-up game afforded her open looks in the paint, and her height advantage gave her the edge on offensive rebounds.

Unable to establish a presence in the paint, Maplesville lived and died on the perimeter where the Red Devils’ shots seemed to never quite be on the mark.

By the fourth quarter Jemison was up 40-8, and both benches were getting experience for future games.

With backups in, coach Robert George’s team continued to establish a dominating defense that they hope to build on going forward in the season.

With the win, Jemison advances in the tournament, but Maplesville is left to reflect on how to generate a more consistent offense.

The Panthers will face Isabella in a semifinal matchup on Friday at 6 p.m.