After leading by as many as 15 points in the third quarter, the Lady Cougars had to hold on at the end to take a 61-57 win over the visiting Thomas Nelson Lady Generals Tuesday night in the Cougar Den.
Rachael Snyder had a big night for the Lady Cougars, scoring 17 of her team-high 19 points in the second half and making it a double-double night by pulling down 12 rebounds. Kenzie Renfrow and Bailey Snyder joined Rachael in double figures with 18 and 13 points respectively.
Trailing 5-3 at the 6:16 mark of the first period, the Lady Cougars closed out the period on an 11-2 run to lead by seven points, 14-7 heading into the second period.
When Kanleigh Fritz scored on a lay-up at the 3:01 mark of the second period, the Lady Generals had completed a 9-2 run to tie the game at 16-16. Fritz led all scorers on the night, finishing with 25 points.
The Lady Cougars responded by closing out the half with a 12-4 run and led by eight points, 28-20 at the break.
A three-pointer by Renfrow at the 4:33 mark of the third quarter capped a 12-5 Lady Cougar run that pushed the lead to 15 points, 40-25. Grayson County led by 11 points, 46-35 at the start of the fourth quarter.
Over the last five minutes of play, the lead see-sawed back and forth between eight and 10 points before Ella Robinson hit a short jumper with 1:31 left that put the Lady Cougars up by 10, 61-51, but they would not score again.
Thomas Nelson then scored six unanswered points to pull to within four of the lead, 61-57. Renfrow went to the line for two shots with 16 seconds left, but missed both and Thomas Nelson turned the ball over on their final possession, giving the Lady Cougars the win.
In addition to her 18 points, Renfrow added seven rebounds and three assists. Annie Kiper finished with five points, while Robinson had four and Raigan Cave had two to complete the scoring.
By Don Brown, Local Sports
Reach bDon at donbrown@k105.com
