The Lady Tigers showed they were queens of the jungle Friday night as they declawed the Lionettes 56-43 in a key district tilt while Lions proved to be kings of the hardwood as they vanquished the Tigers in boys action, pulling away at the end for a 61-53 victory.
The 13-point Lady Tiger victory came following a physical ballgame which saw DeKalb never quite secure despite building eight-point leads on several occasions during the slobber-knocker with the rivals. With Cannon County fans packing the visitor’s side, the Lionettes held tough early as DeKalb held a slim one-point lead at the end of one thanks to five apiece from Mya Ruch and Emme Colwell. Ruch would go on to lead her team with 17 on the night while Colwell, who was honored at half-time for joining the career 1,000-point club, wouldn’t score another basket after the opening frame.
The second proved to be a defensive battle as neither team could find the basket with regularity. The five-point showing for the Lionettes increased their deficit by the half as they went into the locker room down 25-21.
The Lady Tigers would increase their lead to eight as they hit four, three-pointers in the quarter. However, a lull after their hot start to the half allowed the Lionettes to creep back and tie the game at 33 before the end of the stanza.
The squads traded blows as the fourth got underway, the physical game leaving players hitting the floor as the referees swallowed their whistles for much of the quarter. The pounding eventually gave way to an up-and-down pace that favored the Lady Tigers who were able to seize the lead with three minutes to go. From there they were able to play keep away, forcing the Lionettes to foul, allowing DeKalb to stretch their final lead to 13 by the final buzzer.
Getting in the scorer’s book for the evening along with Ruch and her 17 was Kadee Ferrell with 15. Ferrell scored 24 in DeKalb’s overtime win over the White County earlier in the week. Megan Walker contributed 10 and Megan Cantrell nine.
Had the boys’ game ended at half-time, it would have been a sweep for the DeKalb County teams as the Tigers held a 23-19 advantage going into the locker room. Their half-time lead came after a furious comeback as they did not score their first basket until halfway through the first period. The slow start had them at a 13-10 disadvantage but some tough rebounding by Dallas Cook and the hot hand of Lucas Hale who had 11 on the night brought them back in the second as they were up by as many as seven at one point.
However, the Tigers came out flat after the half, letting the Lions take the momentum and the lead. Cannon was able to fire off a late run in the third to take a 41-38 lead going into the final frame.
The fourth proved to be a see-saw battle thanks to Cook and Dakota White who both had 10 on the night, supporting the 12 scored by Evan Jones.
However, turnover issues down the stretch caused the Tigers to lose touch, allowing the Lions to pull away, finishing off their hosts with a thunderous Luke Alexander dunk for the final points of the game.
The DeKalb teams, especially the Lady Tigers, face a tough week ahead as they were set to play Upperman Tuesday before going to Macon County Friday. Both girls’ teams are undefeated and state ranked.
