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The Bainbridge Ladycats (1-3) fell to the Monroe Lady Tornadoes (4-2) 55-59 in a game that went down to the final buzzer.

Junior point guard Taliyah Ausgood led the team with 12 points in the loss. Bainbridge Head Coach Daniel Evans said he was proud of his team despite the result.

“The girls gave tremendous effort,” Evans said. “That’s what I ask every game… It’s the little things that we’ve got to clean up.

The Ladycats fell behind the Lady Tornadoes early in the game. Monroe jumped out to a 19-12 lead in the first quarter but slowed down in the second, thanks to the Ladycat press defense.

Bainbridge’s aggressive defensive held Monroe to 11 points in the quarter, while they scored 16. The score was 28-30 going into halftime.

Defense is the main part of the Ladycats’ identity this season, and Evans said it played a major role in keeping the team in the game. 

The game stayed close through the second half. The third quarter score was 14-14, bringing the total score to 42-44 going into the fourth.

“They played as one unit,” Evans said. “No one was trying to be selfish or whatever the case may be… that’s what I want to see.”

The fourth quarter was back and forth, but the Ladycats were unable to make a comeback against the Lady Tornadoes. The team was outscored by just 2 points in the quarter and was within three points with a minute left on the clock. The final score was 55-59. 

“Trust the process,” Evans said. “If we play like that going forward, without our turnovers and we make our layups, we’ll be locked in.”

The Ladycats travel to Thomasville High School next for a rematch of the opening game of the season. The road game against the Bulldogs tips off at 6 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 8.