The middle school girls basketball teams hit the road on Thursday for a pair of games against the Glasgow Scotties.
In the opener, the seventh-grade girls got double digit scoring Kaylee Masden and Hannah Salsman as they lashed the Scotties 41-21.
In the eighth-grade game, the Lady Cougars had to overcome early foul trouble and a seven-point halftime disadvantage to win 39-34.
SEVENTH-GRADE GAME
Despite a first half in which the Lady Cougars were whistled for 12 fouls while the Scotties had just three, the Lady Cougars were able to take a lead in the first quarter they would not give back.
The Scotties took their only lead of the night at the 4:39 mark when Jaidyn Franklin hit a pair of free throws. The Lady Cougars then ran off 10 unanswered points, five each from Masden and Salsman, to lead 10-2 at the end of the first period.
The Scotties pulled back to within four points, 10-6 on a Franklin free throw with 3:23 left in the first half. The Lady Cougars led by five, 12-7 before scoring the final five points of the half to lead by 10 points, 17-7 at the half. Salsman buried a three with 1:21 remaining and Embry Thorpe put in a short jumper at the buzzer to close out the first-half scoring.
Grayson County opened the third quarter with a 9-2 run, including Masden’s second three-pointer of the night, to take a 17-point lead, 26-9. They led by 18 points, 31-13 heading into the fourth quarter.
A 6-1 run at the start of the fourth quarter, including Salsman’s second three-pointer of the night, pushed the Lady Cougar lead to 23 points, 37-14, and they were able to cruise to the win.
Masden led all scorers in the game with 15 points, and she added six rebounds and four steals. Salsman added 14 points and led the team on the boards with eight rebounds.
Despite early foul trouble which saw her miss considerable minute, Lady Cougars point guard Grace Gorby finished with eight points, four rebounds, and an assist. Thorpe finished with two points, as did Mackenzie Edwards, who had a good night all around. One of the smallest players on the floor, Edwards also finished with eight rebounds, and added four steals and an assist to her night’s work.
EIGHTH-GRADE GAME
As happened in the seventh-grade game, the officiating in the first half of the eighth-grade game was decidedly one-sided. The Lady Cougars were called for 10 fouls in the first half, while the Scotties had but two. Point guard Allie Horton picked up three fouls and missed much of the first half.
Three free throws by Glasgow’s nifty point guard, Elli Bartley, gave the Scotties a 12-10 lead with 1:20 left in the first quarter. Bartley led all scorers in the game with 18 points.
Shannon Smith hit a six-footer with 1:03 left to tie the score at 12-12, then Gorby hit a pull-up jumper with five seconds left to give the Lady Cougars a 14-12 lead heading into the second period.
The Scotties opened the second quarter with a 12-1 run, including eight straight, to take their largest lead of the game, nine points at 24-15 with 1:15 remaining in the half.
Salsman stopped the 8-0 run by hitting a 10-footer with under a minute to play to cut the lead to seven, 24-17 at the half.
Grayson County came out with fire in their eyes at the start of the third quarter and began pressing end-to-end. The Lady Cougars forced eight Glasgow turnovers in the third quarter and outscored the Scotties 16-8 to lead by a single point, 33-32 as the fourth quarter began.
Glasgow’s Meagan Shirley hit a lay-up at the 4:00 mark to make it 35-34, and that would be the last time the Scotties scored the rest of the way. The Lady Cougars forced nine empty trips, including six turnovers in the final four minutes.
Grace White scored off a Horton assist with 2:34 left to make it 37-34, then White scored again with 1:08 remaining and the Lady Cougars had completed their comeback.
White led the Lady Cougars with 15 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals. She did not drive the bus home.
Horton joined White in double figures with 11 points and she added five rebounds. Smith had a good night for the Lady Cougars, scoring eight points, including a three-pointer, and added five rebounds and a steal.
Gorby and Salsman both finished with two points, and Leslie Swafford had one to complete the Lady Cougar scoring.
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