By Myra Bean

The North Panola Lady Cougars hit on all cylinders to win the Water Valley Invitational Tournament last week.

The Lady Tigers lost the first game to Coffeeville 47-46 Thursday night, but rallied to win the last two against Charleston and Water Valley.

North Panola led at the half 18-16, but Coffeeville rallied late in the fourth quarter to take the lead and the game. The Lady Cougars had a 31-27 lead going into the fourth quarter. Coffeeville outscored North Panola 20-15 to take the game.

Leading scorer for the Lady Cougars was Catonya Newson with 13 points. Suzette Suggs of Coffeeville led all scorers with 18 points, followed by Raesha Smith with 17.

Also scoring in double figures for the Lady Cougars were Brittany Patton with 11 and Jenisha Jackson with 10. Jackson also pulled in six rebounds and got two steals.

Audrey Taylor contributed seven points to the game, and was credited with five assists and seven steals.

On Friday, the Lady Cougars defeated Charleston 61-47. They had a 27-15 halftime lead.

Patton led the Lady Cougars in scoring with 20 points. She shot eight of her 10 free throws and had six rebounds and four steals.

Also scoring in double figures were Taylor 15 points, four assists; and Shaveeta Gordon with a double-double, 11 points-10 rebounds. Newson contributed nine points, nine assists and four rebounds. Jenisha Jackson had six points, four rebounds and blocked two shots.

Against Water Valley in the championship game, the Lady Cougars dominated with a 64-50 win. At the half, North Panola led 43-20. Head coach Chris Yancy let the Lady Cougar bench get time and Water Valley outscored the Lady Cougars 26-7 in the fourth quarter. It was not enough to counter a 57-24 third quarter lead.

Patton led in scoring with 16 points, followed by Newson with 16. Taylor chipped in 12 points and Gordon 10. Rounding out the scoring for the Lady Cougars were Jackson, 6 points, Nadasheney Montgomery, two points and Jessica Burton, one point.

The Lady Cougars will be off tonight, but will host their next three games. Friday, they will host Rosa Fort in a district game. Saturday, Marks Palmer will be in town for non-district action.Tuesday, the Senatobia Warriors come to town for a district matchup. All games have a 5 p.m. tipoff with junior varsity games.