Lady Cat's Upset Bid Falls Late to #8 Copperas Cove in District 8-6A

SAN ANGELO, TX- The Central Lady Cats had a strong first half against eighth-ranked Copperas Cove, but lost steam in the second half and fell to the Lady Dawgs 43-36. 

"Late in the second quarter the lead slipped away from us. We had some defensive breakdowns," Lady Cats Head Coach Landon Dyer said. "We got sped up, coves a team that likes to play fast. We controlled the tempo for till the last half of that second quarter."

Copperas Cove came out strong to open the game with a couple of three pointers by Madisen Honea to put the lady Dawgs up 6-0 early. 

Centrals squad did not back down though and ended the quarter on a 9-2 run led by point guard Morgan Walker. 

Latavia Dosson provided a much needed spark for Central after they started off sluggish to help put the Bobcats up 9-8 after the first quarter. 

Parris Parmer got hot in the second knocking down a couple shots from deep as well to the extend the Bobcats lead, but Central cooled off quickly. 

Strong guard play by Copperas Cove kept the Central lead within a manageable distance. Point guard Madison Griffon kept pressure up on defense while keeping the tempo up on offense. 

Lady Dawgs' Mariyah Reynolds knocked down a couple long distance shots that opened up the pick and roll for her teammate Erica Powell on the inside.

Going into the half the Lady Dawgs cut their deficit to one, down 21-20 to Central with momentum on their side.

In the third Both teams continued to trade buckets and turnovers as they went back and forth. 

Lady Dawgs' Powell finally tied the game up at 26 midway through the third on a fast break lay up that resulted from a lazy Bobcat pass. 

Walker answered right back with another three and multiple steals, but could not sustain her performance as the second half wore on. 

Central turned the ball over late in the third and Honea capitalized on a running layup on the backboard to beat the buzzer to tie the game at 30 going into the final quarter.

Griffon sat out the entire fourth but came in the fourth and scored a quick layup on an easy drive to give the Lady Dawgs their first lead since the first quarter, 32-30. 

A  foul by Central allowed the Dawgs to extend their lead on a couple free throws, and Powell continued her strong play on the inside with multiple boards and a hug bucket to put Copperas Cove up 36-30 with 6:33 left in the game.

Walker cooled off significantly for the Bobcats and no other Central players could find a rhythm on offense. 

Honea continued a strong performance as well for the Dawgs with another layup in the fourth to give the Dawgs their biggest lead of the night 39-30.

Central scored 6 straight pull within three, but a late fouls killed any chance they had at a comeback. 

Another clutch bucket by Powell the inside sealed the game with 30 seconds left and the Dawgs came out with the victory 43-36.

"It's a learning experience, Cove's the number eight team in the state. We definitely had out chances to beat them here," Head Coach Landon Dyer.

The Lady Cats fall to 12-8 overall and 1-2 in district play this season. Central will look to rebound in their next game at Harker Heights on 12/19.