Staff writer
WHITESVILLE -- Fans of Lady Cougar basketball have been waiting for the team to click this season the way they are capable of doing. Monday night at Whitesville they got a glimpse of what that might be like as the Lady Cougars won 64-48.
Grayson County (8-2) was clicking on all cylinders in the opening three minutes of the game as they hit their first six shots and grabbed a 13-4 lead on the Lady Raiders (5-9). Though they cooled off afterward, the Lady Cougars still gave an indication of the kind of team they could be as they led by as many as 21 points against a team and at a place that is very difficult to play.
Grayson County was making hay on the inside, with junior Rachel Romance making entry passes from the wing into senior Lee Ann Wood in the post. Wood had six points in the opening moments.
When that pass was not there, Romance took the ball on her own, hitting a 15-foot jumper, then a three-pointer that forced Trinity to call a timeout trailing by nine.
The Lady Raiders then went to a zone that cooled the visitors down a bit. Trinity's Amber Roby buried a three-pointer at the 3:49 mark to cut the lead to six, but Laura Downs answered with a three-ball at the Grayson County end to move the margin back to nine.
Grayson County closed out the period by forcing a flurry of turnovers which were converted to baskets. A five-second call at the 1:14 mark was turned into points when Jara Vega Velez hit a 10-footer with 58 seconds left.
Trinity hurried a shot and the Cougars went on the break with Tasha Farris hitting a lay-up with 44 seconds remaining. The Lady Cougar press caused another turnover and this time Romance fed Brittany Bird on the break for another lay-up with 24 seconds remaining and Grayson County led 22-7 as the period ended.
In the second quarter, Trinity put together an 8-0 run that closed the margin to six points, 27-21 with 1:59 left in the half, but the Lady Cougars outscored them 6-1 the rest of the way and led 33-22 heading into the halftime intermission.
Grayson County put on its own 8-0 run in the third period that expanded the lead to 20 points, 47-27 with 4:21 left and they held that margin heading into the final period when they led 51-31.
Grayson County held its largest lead of the game with 5:56 remaining to be played, 54-33 and held on down the stretch.
Romance had probably her best game as a Lady Cougar since transferring from Hart County at the beginning of the year. She did great work on the boards and led all scorers with 14 points while handing out five assists.
Wood finished the night with eight points after leaving early when she turned an ankle. Wood tried to return in the second half, but went back to the bench in the third period and did not return. Vega Velez came off the bench to play the post and turned in a fine performance, finishing with 10 points.
Farris also had eight points in a superb supporting role. Grayson County's leading scorer, Bird, had a tough scoring night with just seven points, but she did her usual fine job running the offense and playing defense.
Molly Beeler and Rebecca Meredith both had six points, while Downs finished with five to close out the scoring.
The Lady Cougars will be back in action this Saturday when they host Butler County in a boy/girl doubleheader beginning at 6 p.m.
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