DURHAM, N.C. -- Ferrum College secured a hard-fought victory to advance in the postseason, holding off a late surge from Lees-McRae to claim a 27-20 win in the Conference Carolinas Women's Flag Football Championship semifinals on Saturday, April 18, at Durham County Memorial Stadium.

RECORDS
Ferrum 17-3
Lees-McRae 11-8

THE BASICS
The Panthers used a balanced air attack and a ball-hawking secondary to outlast the Bobcats in a back-and-forth defensive struggle. Ferrum struck first in the opening period, but Lees-McRae responded with 12 unanswered points in the second quarter—highlighted by two Makenzie Hicks touchdown passes—to take a 12-7 lead into the locker room.

The second half belonged to the Ferrum defense and quarterback Payson Shreeve. The Panthers' secondary stifled the Bobcat offense, recording four interceptions on the day to stall multiple scoring threats. Ferrum regained the lead in the third quarter, 13-12, before extending the cushion to 27-12 in the fourth behind Shreeve's precision passing.

Lees-McRae refused to go away, as Hicks orchestrated a late drive capped by a 1-yard touchdown pass to Ava Rivera to pull within one score at 27-20. However, the Panthers' defense held firm in the final minute to clinch the win and a spot in the championship game.

Shreeve anchored the offense, completing 34-of-50 passes for 318 yards and four touchdowns. Her favorite target, Jaden Hiers, hauled in 11 receptions for 136 yards and two scores, while Macy Taylor added 10 catches for 59 yards and two touchdowns of her own.

Defensively, the Panthers were led by Breyana Kimmons, who recorded two interceptions, and Gracious Wise, who tallied two sacks. Zy'Breayziah Alexander and Samantha Pitzer also contributed interceptions in the winning effort.

KEY STATS
Passing: Payson Shreeve 34-50, 318 yards, 4 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Payson Shreeve 5-32; Macy Taylor 2-6
Receiving: Jaden Hiers 11-136, 2 TD; Macy Taylor 10-59, 2 TD; Samantha Pitzer 4-51; Jordan Snell 3-38
Defense: 4 INT (Breyana Kimmons 2, Zy'Breayziah Alexander 1, Samantha Pitzer 1); 2 Sacks (Gracious Wise 2)

UP NEXT
Ferrum advances to the Conference Carolinas Flag Football Championship, where they will face top seed Wingate University Sunday, April 19. The game is scheduled to start at 2:00 p.m. at Durham County Memorial Stadium.