Leon Lady Cougars topple Marlin

The Leon crowd goes wild as the winning free throw goes in. Sherry’s Shots The Lady Cougars defeated Rosebud-Lott 38-28 on January 19th and came back with a victory over the undefeated district leader Marlin Lady Bulldogs 59-58 in a classic thriller in Jewett on January 22th.

The game against Marlin was a classic duel between two very good teams. Marlin came to Jewett undefeated in district play and the Cougars and Teague close behind with a single loss. With LHS’ win there is a three-way tie for first with five games left for each team. The teams that finish 1, 2, and 3 in district advance to the playoffs.

Marlin has a tall and large team and the Cougars’ tallest player stands 5’ 7”, but LHS’ athletes have speed and quickness and Coach J. D. Foley also stresses conditioning. The ladies’ physical condition played a major role late in the fourth quarter.

Leon’s Justin Padgett (#10) shoots over a Marlin defender. Sherry’s Shots The Cougars started the game cold and only managed 8 points in the first quarter and 5 in the second quarter to fall behind 25-13 at the half. Things didn’t improve and after the third quarter the Cougars trailed 24-37. To add to their woes Kori Charlton and Ashley Shuldham fouled out in the fourth quarter. The conditioning of the players paid big dividends in the fourth quarter as they forced Marlin into many turnovers late in the game.

The game looked out of reach as the Cougars fell behind by 17 points with 3:52 left in the game. Still, the Cougars held their composure and begin to chip away at the deficit. Quick hands and feet caused several turnovers which the Cougars converted into easy buckets. With 52 ticks showing on the clock the Cougars still trailed by 12 points.

LHS pecked away and with 12 seconds left Allison Carrigan drained a 3-pointer to close the gap to 57-58. The Cougars immediately fouled as the ball was passed in to kill the clock but Marlin was in the double bonus situation. The Marlin player went to the free throw line shooting two free throws and --unbelievably both shots were missed. Marlin grabbed the rebound but fumbled the ball out of bounds with 3 seconds on the clock.

LHS’ Chelby Stanford hustles for the ball. Sherry’s Shots Elissa Downey heaved the ball the length of the court on the inbounds play and Monique Dorsey caught the ball and threw up a shot that missed but she was fouled in the act of shooting with .22 of a second showing on the clock. Dorsey went to the free throw line and sank the first free throw that tied the game and then calmly sank the second one for the win as the home town fans erupted. Shuldham had a huge game with 17 points and 8 rebounds before fouling out. Carrigan and Dorsey tossed in 12 points each. The Cougars erupted for 35 points in the fourth quarter after being held to 24 points in the first 3 quarters. The lesson learned is: NEVER, NEVER, NEVER give up.

Stats for the Cougars against Marlin: Chrysti Grayson 4 rebounds; Kori Charlton 4 points, 8 rebounds; Kendle Charlton 1 point, 2 rebounds; Ashley Shuldham 17 points, 8 rebounds; Chelby Stanford 1 point, 8 rebounds; Elissa Downey 8 points, 3 rebounds; Allison Carrigan 12 points, 9 rebounds; Jentry Clary 4 points; Monique Dorsey 12 points, 2 rebounds.

In an earlier game the JV Lady Cougars defeated Marlin 45-36. The Cougars had a 15-8 lead after the first quarter and a 23-18 lead at the half. They doubled their lead to 10 points as the third quarter came to an end. At games end the Cougars held on to a 9 point victory 45-36. Paige McKensie poured in 15 points and Sharon Coulter added 13 to pace the Cougar offense. Cheyenne Lamar snared 5 rebounds and Avery Robinson and Cristince Simpson had 4 rebounds each to lead the Cougars on defense.

In earlier district action the Lady Cougars defeated Rosebud-Lott 38-28 on January 19th. In a very low scoring game the Cougars led 23-16 at the half. During the third quarter the shots didn’t fall for the Cougars and they only scored 2 points but still led 25-24 entering the fourth quarter. The offense and the defense clicked in the fourth quarter and the Cougars came away with a 38-28 victory. Allison Carrigan had 10 points to go with her 10 rebounds. Kori Charlton controlled the board with 16 rebounds.

Stats for the Cougars against Rosebud-Lott: Monique Dorsey 6 points, 6 rebounds; Jentry Clary 4 points, 2 rebounds; Allison Carrigan 10 points, 10 rebounds; Elissa Downey 7 points, 2 rebounds; Chelby Stanford 2 points, 5 rebounds; Ashley Shuldham 6 rebounds; Kendle Charlton 6 points, 5 rebounds; Kori Charlton 3 points, 16 rebounds; Chrysti Grayson 2 rebounds.

The Cougars travel to Hearne on January 26 and host Franklin on January 29th in district action.