The Lady Cougars played host to the West Central Lady Trojans in the early game of the Carroll Classic on Saturday morning. This was pretty much a repeat performance of the game against Pioneer as the Cougars went into the den in the first half with frigid free throw shooting and then tried to claw their way back from a 22point deficit. They hustled and played an intense game in the first 5 minutes of the third quarter and the last 5 minutes of the 4th quarter, knocking the West Central lead down to under 12 points, but the end result was the same. Krystal Brazel (20 pts.) led the Cougars with tremendous 3-point shooting and Ashley Miller (6) played one of her best overall games for the year. The end result was 6 of 24 free throw shooting which left the Cougars tagged with another loss to go to 1 of 6 for the year. Halee Hendryx led the Cougars with 9 rebounds and solid floor play. Carroll vs. Lowell

Coach Patti McCormack made a return trip to her former employer’s gym to bring her talented 4-A Lowell team into the second game of the Carroll Classic. Lowell maybe the best team the Cougars play all year a team full of talent and future state championship aspirations in the large school division. Lowell left the gym with 10 wins and 1 loss. They were much bigger and more physical than the Lady Cougars.

This game was a moral victory for the Cougar Ladies as they clawed and played an intense defensive game. Sarah Brown played a tremendous defensive game holding Lowell’s leading scorer, Julie Swisher (20 points per game) to only three shots the entire game. Brown has been establishing her role as a key defender for the Cougars. Courtney Hall also gave a stellar effort as she played hard in the middle against a physical Rachel Thiel, who also was held to only 6 points. The Cougars tried to hold down the other offensive weapon, Ashley Cosentino, to no avail as she controlled the first half with a 17-point effort.

The Lady Cougars came out tired on the offensive side, scoring only 7 points in the first half as Krystal Brazel struggled with her 3-point shooting. The second half showed a tremendous effort for the Cougars as they clawed back to a 12-point deficit early in the fourth quarter. Carroll outscored Lowell by 15 points early in the fourth quarter, but succumbed to the visitors 55-30.

Carroll Coach Clay Hanna was pleased the Cougars played a talented team with energy and gave a solid effort. It would be great to see the Lady Cougars come out in the first half with intensity so that they would not have to dig their way out of the early deficits. With the exception of the first half of the Delphi game, the Lady Cougars have played solid basketball in the second half of each game but it takes so much energy to come back that it leaves them showing hustle, but with losses.

The coach’s Christmas list will be filled with the girls’ abilities to hit free throws, stay healthy, and develop some more offensive weapons. They have proved they can play with heart and hustle on defense.

The Cougars face North White at home Thursday night at 6.