The Grayson County Lady Cougar basketball team, under new head coach Mike McClintic, played a pair of games at Bowling Green High School on Tuesday afternoon.
The team struggled offensively in the first game losing 23-20 to Russell County and falling to Bowling Green 44-34 in the nightcap.
Russell County
Offense was a struggle on both sides for this game. The Lady Cougars shot only 23.3% from the field in the three-point loss to the Lady Lakers.
Sydney Perkins got the scoring going for Grayson County with a ten-foot floater on the right baseline. She would quickly follow that up with a free throw (which counted as two points in this game) to make it a 4-0 early lead.
Perkins would later hit a three with 7:40 left in the half to put GCHS up 7-2. Ella Narvaez used multiple key rebounds to lead to an Isabel Blanton basket to help try to spark the slow offensive output.
In the closing seconds of the opening half, Perkins hit a three-pointer in the corner to give Grayson County a 12-6 lead at the break.
Despite the hope of that breaking the seal for the Orange and Blue, it did not. The half started with four missed shots and multiple turnovers before Perkins had a basket to go up 16-11.
The Lady Lakers would then turn in their best stretch of the game. They would score on consecutive possessions to take a 17-16 lead. A lead that would only last for about ten seconds as Perkins made a shot to retake the advantage.
The back and forth began. Allie Jennings gave the Lady Cougars a one-point advantage with 2:30 left but that would be the last score of the game.
Russell County hit a go-ahead shot with about 20 seconds left to clinch the 23-20 victory.
Perkins led Grayson County in scoring in the game. She had 14 points and 2 rebounds. Only Blanton had multiple baskets in the game as she had four points. Although she didn’t score, eighth-grader Breigh Jones had six rebounds, four steals, and a pair of blocks.
Bowling Green
The second game of the day was one that the Lady Cougars knew they were going to be tested in. Bowling Green has won multiple region titles in a row.
Offensively, the game could not have looked different to start. The Lady Purples won the opening tip and missed an early shot. Allie Jennings pulled down the rebound and pushed it up the floor to Sutten VanMeter who drained an open three.
VanMeter wasn’t done there. She would hit another three along with two other shots to have 10 early points and give Grayson County the 13-9 advantage.
As expected, Bowling Green would not go quietly. Both teams traded the lead before Grayson found themselves with a three-point deficit with about a minute to go. Breigh Jones hit a three-pointer to tie the game up at 25 and that score would hold for the remainder of the half.
VanMeter would give the Lady Cougars a lead to start the second half after being fouled on a three-point shot. It would be short-lived as multiple free throws by Bowling Green put them ahead 29-28.
Grayson County would not panic. A pair of free throws from VanMeter and Sydney Perkins would bring them back to within two at 34-32 with about eight minutes to go.
However, the offense went cold for Grayson County, and they would only score once more in the game en route to a 44-34 loss.
VanMeter led the team in scoring with 19 points and a rebound. She shot an impressive 5/6 from the field. Perkins struggled from the field and came away with seven points while Jones added three and Ella Narvaez had two while also pulling down four boards.
The Lady Cougars will travel to Muhlenberg County for summer ball on Thursday afternoon before closing the portion of the schedule next week at Perry Central, IN.
By Sam Gormley, Play-By-Play Announcer/Local Sports
Reach Sam at sam@k105.com
