The Bainbridge Lady Cats (8-10, 1-4) were in a prime position to pick up a crucial second win in region play but let a 26-19 halftime lead disappear in a thrilling and also heartbreaking 60-58 finish against Doughtery on Friday evening that ended with contact at the rim and no call. 

No. 4 Kyra Green had a team-high 17 points, 12 of her 17 came in the second half. No. 23 Da’Nydia Campbell finished with 12 points, No. 14 Ta’Liyah Ausgood also finished in double-figures with 11, and No. 32 Z’riah Solomon had eight points and a three-pointer in the final sixty seconds that allowed the Lady Cats to hold the ball last and dictate the outcome. 

Ball movement was a key factor for the Lady Cats in the first half resulting in getting the ball into the paint and kicking the basketball for open looks. Ausgood made three, three-pointers and Solomon had two. 

“I thought the girls played with a lot of effort,” Bainbridge Lady Cats coach Kelvin Cochran said. “Just came up short down the stretch, we have to control what we can control, turnovers, mixed boxed outs, missed free throws that’s the stuff we can control. We can’t sit and dwell on what the referee didn’t call, we just have to get over that hump.” 

The final few possessions for the Lady Cats were complete chaos inbounding the ball down two, but showed the willpower this group of girls is all about. 

“Z’riah had Kyra over the top,” Cochran said. “If she had put a little more air on the ball Kyra could have caught it and laid in it, but the guards were in a good position to grab the deflection and go into scramble mode.” 

Down just two, after gaining possession back a three-point shot was necessary unless it was wide open, Campbell looked up at the clock and took off to the rim. 

“The referee didn’t call it, she could have got hit or the ball could have hit her,” Cochran said. “At the end of the day, we have to focus on the missed box out and turnovers that gave Dougherty the two points.” 

The Lady Cats followed that high-intense emotional home game with a tough loss at Monroe on Saturday losing 55-37. Green was in double figures with 16 points and No. 22 junior, Autumn Oliver finished with nine points. 

The Lady Cats participated in the Martin Luther King Shootout hosted by Monroe High School and took on Lee County at noon losing 51-27. Due to inclement weather in the area, their regular-season rematch against Thomas County Central was rescheduled to January 28th. The Lady Cats return to region play on Friday, traveling to take on the Westover Patriots. The matchup this weekend against Cairo Syrupmaids will be rescheduled as schools in the Grady School District will reopen on Monday, January 27. All tipoffs for the Lady Cats are at 6 p.m.