By Myra Bean

The North Panola teams dropped close district decisions to Holly Springs Tuesday night.

“It was just one of those nights,” North Panola head girls coach Chris Yancy said. “We had a sluggish start for the most part.”

The girls lost 60-51 after being down 27-16 at halftime.

Ariel Mottely led the Lady Cougars with 17 points, shooting five 3-pointers. Other scorers include Jalisa Lyons, 16 points; Brittany Patton, 12 points; and Catonya Newsom, 6 points.

The boys lost by one point, 55-54. North Panola was up by three points at the half.

Holly Springs went up by one point with six seconds left in the game. North Panola stole the pass and moved the ball down the court, but missed two layups which would have given the Cougars the win, according to first year head coach Leroy Boyd.

The Cougars will play their last game before the Christmas holidays tonight at Byhalia, beginning at 6 p.m.