The Lady Cougars entered Saturday’s home contest well rested after enjoying a twoweek break from game activity. The layoff worked in their favor as the Lady Cougars were fresh throughout the game, upsetting the (9-3) Warriors, an annually very difficult opponent, 41-33.

Making matters a little difficult for the Cougars was Quinci Eller and Jess Yoder spending time on the bench in the first and second quarters with foul trouble. Eller picked up her second foul halfway into the first quarter while Yoder was collared with her second personal late in the same quarter. Poor shooting by both clubs resulted in a low scoring first quarter with Winamac on top 10- 5.

The second quarter saw Carroll play stingy defense and rebound well. On the floor most of the quarter for Carroll were senior Abby Reinke, sophomores Paige Barnes and Kate Hickner and freshmen Shelbi Fisher and Kaitlin Ragan. Also in the rotation was Carly Yoder. These ladies held Winamac to 4 points in the quarter while scoring 12 for the home team to give Carroll a 17-14 halftime lead. Reinke scored 8 of her 10 points during the second quarter.

The second half was more traditional Lady Cougar basketball. Carroll used ball pressure to create turnovers. The return of Eller and Yoder to the lineup with fresh legs provided an additional element that Winamac struggled to handle, aggressiveness on both ends of the court. Carroll again outscored Winamac for the quarter, 12-8, extending the hosts lead to 29-22. Eller had 7 and Yoder 5 for all of Carroll’s scoring in the quarter.

Winamac started the fourth quarter with a 10-2 run to take a short-lived 32-31 lead. Carroll regained the lead 33-32 on a basket by Eller with 4:02 left to play. A 3-pointer by Yoder extended the margin to 36-32 and Carroll would not give up the lead. Eller made 5 of 6 free throws down the stretch to maintain Carroll’s advantage. Winamac was unable to make free throws or field goals down the stretch and Carroll held on for the 41-33 final.

Carroll out-rebounded the Warriors 35-31. Leading the Cougars were Eller with 17 points and 6 rebounds, Reinke 10 points and 12 rebounds, and Yoder 10 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists.

Clinton Prairie will be at Carroll Thursday for a rescheduled contest. JV tip off will be at 6 p.m. with the varsity to follow.

On Jan. 30 the Lady Cougars will host the Rossville Hornets in the annual Breast Cancer Awareness benefit game. The Lady Cougars are accepting pledges for the game with all proceeds going to benefit breast cancer research. Pledges can be given directly to your favorite Lady Cougar, or by contacting the Carroll Athletic Department. Be sure to wear pink on the 30th!