By Myra Bean
The North Panola Lady Cougars missed six of seven free throws in the last 30 seconds Friday night and suffered a 49-47 loss to district foe, the Tunica Rosa Fort Lady Lions.

The Lady Cougars had lagged behind most of the game only hitting 40 percent or nine of 22 free throws on the evening.

At the end of the first quarter, the Lady Cougars were down 11-8. Things seem to get worse as the Lady Cougars found themselves down by 10, 23-13, with 2:22 left in the first half.

They fought and scrapped together to get back into the game on a 6-0 spree and pulled within four 23-19 with 43.9 seconds left in the half. On a field goal by Audrey Taylor, a steal and field goal by Brittany Patton and two free throws by Jenisha Jackson, the Lady Cougars surfaced. At the half, Tunica led 26-19.

The Lady Cougars again found themselves struggling to keep up in the third quarter and were down by 14, 38-24, with 2:51 left, but they did not count themselves out. With two more field goals by Catonya Newsom and Jackson, the Lady Cougars were down by 10, 38-28, going into the final quarter.

Tunica started struggling with making its shots and got into foul trouble and the Lady Cougars started their comeback.

With 4:23 on the clock, Patton found herself all alone on the right side from the three-point area and she sank the basket to cut the lead 43-37.

With 3:12 to go, Jackson got the offensive rebound and field goal to pull within four, 45-41.

The score went back to six 49-43 Tunica with 2:02 left which happened to be Tunica’s last score of the evening. Patton was again hot from the three and cut the lead 49-46 with 1:52 left. All the scoring opportunities belonged to the Lady Cougars in the final minute of the game, but they could only score one free throw.

Patton led all scorers with 21 points, followed by Jackson with 14. Other Lady Cougar scorers include Shaveeta Gordon, 6; Newsom and Taylor, 3 each.

Mercedes Morrow led the Lady Lions with 13, followed by Jacarra Fell with 10.

The Lady Cougars hosted Marks Palmer in non-district action Saturday night. Tonight, the Lady Cougars will host Senatobia in district action at 6 p.m. Friday, the Cougar teams will travel to Lewisburg for a district matchup.

Lady Cougars rebound from Friday loss to win

By Donna Taylor

Audrey Taylor returned to the North Panola line up after being benched for academic reasons, and has contributed immensely to the team’s offense and defense. On Saturday night, the Lady Cougars defeated the M.S. Palmer Lady Red Dragons. After a sluggish start the ladies quickly mounted a 20 point lead  against Palmer.

Taylor wowed the crowd with a shake and fake and connects with  Brittany Patton for an easy bucket that put  North Panola up 32-14 with 1:30 on the clock before halftime. Taylor finished the night with 13 points and was 1-2 from the charity stripe.

According to a North Panola official, Taylor’s academics have been great since she returned. She sat out the first semester, a policy that North Panola strictly enforces with it’s student athletes.

Catonya Newsom, with a combination of beauty, brawn and brains, has the quickness and presence of mind to know where her teammates are at all times. She contributed to the victory with eight assists, three offensive rebounds as well as three on the defensive end. Newsom was the second highest scorer of the game with 16 points and 4 of 6 from the free throw line.

The second half for NP was a bit harrowing. The Lady Red Dragons picked away at the double-digit lead to come within two, 49-47 in the fourth quarter. A questionable full court Brett Favre pass was intercepted by Palmer and a foul was committed, but netted no gain. The team seemed to be coming unraveled, but regained their composure. They held Palmer at bay for the remainder of the game and came out 55-49 winners.

The lapse in the lead seems a bit deceiving after such athletic prowess during the game. Other team members who contributed to the win were Shavetta Gordon, seven points, 1-4 free throws, two assists; Brittany Patton was the high scorer of the night with 17 points and was in double figures on rebounds with three offensive and seven defensive, 1-4 free throws and was 2-3 from three point land; Denisha Jackson, four points, two assists and had 12 defensive rebounds and one offensive; Taylor wrapped up the night    with three assists, two offensive rebounds and four defensive and Toya Wilbourn contributed with four defensive rebounds.

The Cougar fan base was in full force. They are not a ‘tall’ team, but make up for it with their quickness and diehard hustle.