NEW ALBANY — After Amanda Elzy struggled out of the gate to a 5-5 mark, the Panthers had their fair share of doubters.
But second-year head coach Gerald Glass found the right formula for his team that wound up one win shy of the Big House.
Elzy, which won 15 of its last 20 games, saw its seven-game win streak end here Friday night in a 69-53 loss to Rosa Fort in the MHSAA North 4A semifinals.
"It's disappointing to get this close to making it to Jackson and come up short, but I will take a 20-10 season from where we started," Glass said. "I am so proud of my kids. They played hard all year and made it a really fun season."
Elzy, which finished the regular season in third place in Region 3, won three straight last week to claim the Region 3 Tournament championship. The Panthers then had two more postseason wins to reach the North 4A semifinals.
Rosa Fort (28-2) played New Albany (28-3) Saturday night in the North 4A finals. Both teams advance to the State 4A Tournament.
Elzy trailed 46-39 late in the third period but closed the quarter with a 7-0 run to tie the game heading into the fourth.
Guard Larry Johnson scored five of those points, with center Janarius Middleton picking up the other two.
Rosa Fort took control of the game after back-to-back 3-pointers and a pair of slam dunks from Labarron Collins early in the final quarter.
The Lions outscored Elzy 12-2 in the first four minutes of the fourth for a 48-56 lead and never looked back.
Rosa Fort outscored the Panthers 23-7 in the fourth.
"We just were not able to play aggressive with the way the officials were calling the game, and that really hurt us down the stretch," Glass said.
Middleton was the lone Elzy player in double figures with 13. Johnson and Terry Webb chipped in with nine each, and Jaylon Daniels added eight.
Dedrick Westbrook paced Rosa Fort with 19 points.
Bernardrick McKinney was next with 16, followed by Collins with 12 and Jonathan Ankston with 11.
n Contact Bill Burrus at bburrus@gwcommonwealth.com.
