Lady Cougars stay close to Lady Bison in district race

LHS’ Kori Charlton (#22) and Allison Carrigan (#20) race down the court. Paul’s Photos The Lady Cougars of Leon defeated Mildred 56-50 and Eustace 76-46 to stay on the heels of district leader Buffalo.

The Cougars started fast against Mildred scoring 21 points in the first period and had a 29- 18 advantage at the half way mark. Mildred outscored the Cougars by two in the third quarter and by three in the final period to close the gap but the Cougars held on to win 56-50.Allison Carrigan led the Cougars in scoring as she netted 23. Kori Charlton tossed in 8 and Avery Robinson and Chelby Stanford had 7 each. Stanford pulled down 10 rebounds and Carrigan grabbed nine.

The Cougars traveled to Eustace on January 20th and won easily, 76-46. The Cougars scored 17 points in the first period and exploded for 24 in the second to hold a commanding 41-22 lead at half time. LHS added 35 points in the third and fourth periods to come home with a 76-46 win. Carrigan was bombing 3 pointers as she hit 8-18 from the 3-point range to lead all scorers with 24 points while Stanford and Charlton tossed in 15 each. Carrigan had 9 rebounds and Stanford collected 8 to lead the Cougars on the boards.

With the two wins the Lady Cougars stay one game behind the Buffalo Bison in district play. Buffalo defeated the Cougars 52-46 on January 3rd and the teams face each other on January 27th in a game that could decide the district championship. The Cougars play Blooming Grove on January 24th and if the Cougars defeat Blooming Grove the game against Buffalo in Buffalo on the 27th will take on added importance. In their previous meeting the Bison and the Cougars were tied 46-46 with 1:02 left and the Bison scored the last 6 points to win 52-46. The Bison have a strong inside game and the Cougars can bomb from long range so it should be an exciting game to watch.