The Bainbridge High School Lady Cats basketball team outscored the visiting Pelham High School Lady Hornets 18-14 in the fourth quarter Tuesday night, but it was not enough as the Lady Hornets held on for a 69-58 victory.

Pelham coach Kelvin Cochran commented about his team’s fourth-quarter surge, following the game.

“I was pleased with the effort in the fourth quarter but I wish we had played better in the first three quarters,” Cochran said. “We did not give up. We kept fighting back.”

The Lady Cats kept it close early. They cut the lead to two at 11-9 when Briana Wade hit a layup and two free throws at the 4:13 and 4:02 marks of the first quarter.

The Lady Hornets increased their lead to 13-9 when Octavia Kierce hit a jumper from the left side at the 3:50 mark.

After Ri’Chana Jackson hit a three-point jumper at the 3:44 mark to cut it to 13-12, the Lady Hornets went on a 9-0 scoring run to increase their lead to 22-12.

Khadeedra Sparrow hit two free throws with 1:44 remaining in the first quarter to get the Lady Cats within eight at 22-14. Kierce followed with a free throw with 38 seconds remaining to give the Lady Hornets a 23-14 advantage entering the second quarter.

The Lady Hornets built their lead to 12, at 33-21, when Briana Freeman hit a driving layup with 2:24 left in the second quarter. They built their lead to 36-23 by halftime.

Tashauntrey Reese scored 12 of her game-high 22 points in the third quarter, to build the Lady Hornets’ lead to 15, at 55-40, entering the fourth quarter.

Jackson, with her team-high 13 points, was one of three Lady Cats in double figures. Briana Wade added 12 and Alex Carter put in 11.

Rounding out the Lady Cats’ scoring chart were Takeia Crankfield with nine, Khadeeijah Cooper with six, Diamond Bouie with three, and Khadeedra Sparrow and Jasmine Kelly with two apiece.

Behind Reese in the Lady Hornets scoring column were Freeman with 16, and Kierce and Timreana Hudson with 11 apiece.

The Lady Cats, who are 1-2 for the season, will return to action next weekend.

They will travel to Moultrie on Friday, Dec. 9, for a 6 p.m. game against the Colquitt County High School Lady Packers, and return home Saturday, Dec. 10, for a 6  p.m. game against the Thomasville High School Lady Bulldogs.