The Lady Tigers vanquished the Dragonetttes while the Dragons devoured the Tigers Friday evening as district play got underway for the high school squads as they played host to York Institute.

For the Lady Tigers, it proved to be surviving a late run by the Dragonettes as the DeKalb girls got out to a fast start taking a 17-8 first quarter lead thanks to balanced scoring with Lydia Brown, Joni Robinson, Emma Colwell and Kadee Ferrell all inking the scoring books in the first stanza.

While limiting the York offensive output in the first, the Lady Tigers traded blows with the Dragonettes in the second as both offenses clicked. Ferrell led the way for DeKalb with six points in the quarter, giving the Lady Tigers a double digit lead at the half as they outscored the visitors 20-18.

They extended the lead in the third, balanced scoring again the name of the game with Colwell leading the way with four.

With what appeared to be a comfortable lead going into the fourth, the Lady Tigers soon found themselves holding on for dear life as the Dragonette press threw a monkey wrench in the works, forcing several DeKalb turnovers that led to easy York baskets on the other end. The Dragonettes drew to within striking distance at the five-minute mark, just four points down. However, the Lady Tigers answered, their main retaliation being from the charity stripe as they went 10 of 14 in the fourth quarter from the foul line. Their prowess from the line helped them extend their lead and take the 66-52 win and a 1-0 district record going into their game Tuesday night at Livingston.

Scoring for the Lady Tigers was Kadee Ferrell with 23, Emma Cowell with 19, Lydia Brown with eight, Joni Robinson with seven, Kenzie France with four and Myra Ruch and Maddison Parsley with two.

The boys saw their shot at a district win dashed in the second quarter of their game as turnovers and a hot shooting York squad proved to be too much as they fell 68-52.

Dallas Cook did what he could in the first quarter to keep things close as he scored seven of the Tigers’ 11 points, keeping pace as they trailed 16-11 after one. The second period; however, proved to be a nightmare as a stingy York defense combined with three baskets from beyond the arch gave the Dragons separation as they outscored their hosts 24-10. Hayden Thomas was top scorer for the Tigers with four in the period.

Three more three pointers in the third kept the York advantage despite a better offensive performance by the Tigers as they managed 15 in third, led by Nathan Atkins who had five. However, the hole was too deep for the Tigers as the Dragons matched them basket for basket in the final frame for the victory.  No Tiger scored more than single digits. Scoring were Hayden Thomas with nine, Josh Carlton, Dakota White and Brayden Howard with four, Noah Martin and Colter Norris with two.