Lady Cougars settle for runner-up at Carroll Classic

Carroll Lady Cougars hosted their annual Classic tournament Dec. 20 at Memorial Gymnasium. The Classic is held each year with proceeds donated to the Carroll Scholarship Fund. This year, the invitees included the Peru Tigers, Clinton Prairie Gophers and the Lowell Red Devils, coached by former Carroll Lady Cougars varsity coach Patty McCormick.

The opening game saw a talented and fast Peru Tiger team run away from the Clinton Prairie Gophers 63-39. Peru would be the Cougar opponent in the championship game. The second game saw the host Cougars treat former coach McCormick to an up-tempo, hot shooting first half display. The Lady Cougars controlled this game from the opening tip and never trailed. Hot shooting from sophomore Quinci Eller helped build a first quarter lead against the Lowell Red Devils 19-10. The Carroll press caused problems for the Red Devils the entire game. Lowell was able to take away some of the Cougar lead in midway in the second period, cutting it down to 23-18 with 4:15 to play. However, Eller, Jess Yoder and Abby Reinke worked well together during the quarter to increase the Cougar lead to 32-21 at half. Also in the action during the quarter were Carly Yoder with a pair of free-throws and Kate Hickner with a short jumper.

The second half saw the Red Devils struggle with the Cougar press. The turnovers created easy scoring opportunities for Carroll and they expanded their lead to 39-24 with 2:54 left in the quarter. Several sloppy possessions by each team resulted in easy baskets and the quarter closed with Carroll in command 41-26. The fourth period was more of the same. Carroll used its quickness and press to build a 20-point margin at 48- 28 with 3:13 remaining and cruised to a 50-33 victory that propelled them into the Championship game against the Peru Lady Tigers.

Championship game

The consolation game was lost by Clinton Prairie in the fourth period. Lowell was able to make some free throws and pressure the Gophers into turnovers late, resulting in Lowell's first win of the season, 50-47. The Lady Cougars also tried to overcome a deficit late in the championship game; however, they ran out of time.

The first quarter of the game against Peru saw the Lady Tigers jump out to an early 9-0 lead. This was a lead they would not relinquish. Carroll fought hard throughout the game, but they were a couple of baskets away from being able to catch the Tigers. Peru was more aggressive on both ends of the court and so won the rebounding and shooting percentage statistics. The Lady Tigers out-rebounded the Lady Cougars by 10, all on their offensive end. Those additional opportunities resulted in close range put-back baskets and allowed the Tigers to shoot better than 57% from the field in the second half.

Carroll used a strong second half effort to stay in this game. Eller and fellow sophomore Jess Yoder and Reinke gave the Cougars a three-pronged attack.

The Carroll Ladies continued to fight through double-digit leads by Peru, closing from a 57-43 fourth quarter deficit to trailing 62-57 with under a minute to play. Time was not in favor of the Cougars as Peru was able to hold onto their lead and win 64-58.

Carroll was lead by an allaround performance by Eller with 24 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists. She was helped by J. Yoder with 17 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals and Reinke with 13 points and 4 rebounds and 3 assists.

The Lady Cougars take a holiday break and then return to action Jan. 9 at Clinton Central. The Lady Bulldogs are coached by Rossville and Purdue standout Jennifer Jacoby. The Lady Cougars then travel to Winamac on Jan. 10.

The Lady Cougars are currently 7-3 overall.