By Myra Bean

The North Panola Cougar teams hosted Rosa Fort Lions of Tunica in a district showdown Tuesday night.

The Lady Cougars and Lady Lions put on a show worthy of the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the district.

The No. 1 Lady Lions battled and held off the Lady Cougars in a 58-55 win.

Before a capacity crowd the top two teams put on a show. The Lady Lions would take the lead and then the Lady Cougars would be on top, much to the home crowd’s appreciation.

It did not look too good after the first quarter for the home team as Rosa Fort led 18-10. The Lady Cougars took the bit between their teeth and erased that lead as time expired going into halftime. With 1.5 seconds on the clock, Catonya Newsom scored a basket after a steal and assist by Brittany Patton. The Lady Lions’ lead was cut to four at halftime, 28-24.

The Lady Cougars came within one point, 28-27, on a steal by Jenisha Jackson and subsequent field goal by Shaveeta Gordon with 5:58 on the clock. A series of missed field goals by the Lady Cougars gave the Lady Lions the opportunity to rebuild the lead 33-27. Both teams turned the hustle button. Individual players started to make strides for the teams. The Lady Lions led 42-35 with 1:21 left in the third quarter. Newsom and Patton started to run the show for the Lady Cougars with steals and field goals and went on a 6-0 run. Going into the fourth quarter, the Lady Cougars were down by only one, 42-41.

On a field goal by Patton from Newsom,  the Lady Cougars took the lead 43-42 with 7:55 left in the game. The lead changed hands a couple of times until the Lady Cougars jumped out to a 47-44 lead on an offensive rebound and goal by Gordon with 6:10 to go.

The Lady Lions started a come back, but the Lady Cougars stayed a little ahead.

The lead flip flopped seven times in the last 3:21 of the game. With 20 seconds left Rosa Fort scored for the 56-55 lead.

In a scramble for the ball, North Panola was called for a foul with seven seconds left and Rosa Fort scored both to force the Lady Cougars to try a three-pointer. As time expired, Patton was unable to sink the necessary three to force overtime.

Jackson was the leading scorer with 22 points. Also scoring for the Lady Cougars were Patton, 14 points; Newsom, 8 points; Gordon, 7 points; Ariel Mottley and Nadashaney Montgomery, 2 points each.

Jalisha Lyons is no longer with the team, according to Lady Cougar head coach Chris Yancy.

Four Lady Lions scored in double figures, Sharonda Vaughn, 16; Zambree Taylor, 14; Jacarra Fell, 12 and Sherra Payno, 10.

North Panola Cougars

The Cougars faced an uphill battle taking on the No. 1 team in the district but held their ground in this home contest.

In the first game between these teams, the Lions scored 70 points in the first half. The Cougars did better this time around and limited Rosa Fort to a 68-56 win.

In the first quarter, the defenses were evident as both teams were forced to call early time outs.

North Panola led 20-16 at the end of the first quarter. Rosa Fort caught up and took the lead with 2:01 left in the half. The Lions led 30-26 at the half.

The Lions turned up the heat in the third quarter and pulled away to take a 47-36 lead going into the final quarter of play. As Rosa Fort brought in its bench to play after the starters built a 63-49 lead, the Cougars battled back for a decent finish.

The Cougars were led in scoring by Rodriques Thomas with 15, followed by Ricky Hunt with 13 and Aldrick Russell with 12. Rounding out scoring for the Cougars were Kiwanis Bobo, 9, Cameron Shorty, 5, and Cortez Hibbler, 2 points.

Martrevious Sanders was the leading scorer for Rosa Fort with 32.

The Cougars will close regular season play on the road against Independence tonight. Tipoff for the girls game is 6 p.m.