By Malcolm Butler
Cedar Creek head coach Katie Hall wanted her team to be tested in the final regular season week of the season.
The Lady Cougars almost passed that test in the win column.
However, District 2-5A foe West Monroe used a game-ending 14-4 run to pull away late and defeat Creek 50-40 at the Brickhouse Monday night.
“I was proud of them,” said Hall. “We played hard. We competed. We were scrappy. We didn’t back down from anything. It’s exactly what I wanted to see, other than the lapse of not scoring late and missing too many free throws. It was a game we could have had, but we are keeping our heads up. I think they felt good about the way they played, and I do to.”
With the game tied 36-36 on a Caroline James layup with five minutes to play, the Lady Cougars (14-11) went cold and the Rebels (16-9) capitalized to escape with the win.
“I wanted our girls to compete against people that are bigger and stronger than us,” said Hall. “I think tonight made us better. I don’t have a problem playing anybody and I wanted to challenge our girls.”
Olivia Underwood hit the first of her two first quarter three-pointers to start the night for the Lady Cougars, who led for the majority of the first quarter before ending in an 11-11 tie.
Freshman Mary Grace Hawkins hit a pair of free throws to start the second quarter and Leah Sutherland added a layup as the Lady Cougars led 15-11. Zoey Venters layup with 5:07 to play in the second stanza gave Creek a 17-13 lead.
However, the Lady Cougars went cold — something that would plaque them late in the game — as West Monroe used a 9-0 run over the next five minutes to build a 22-17 advantage. However, freshman Alivia Lee nailed a three-pointer from the corner at the buzzer to pull Creek to within 22-20 at the break.
Hawkins had nine points and Lee added seven point as the Lady Cougars two freshman combined for 16 in the game.
“(Mary Grace and Alivia) have been kind of struggling with their confidence lately,” said Hall. “I hope tonight reminded them of how good they can be, and that they can play with anybody. I was proud of both of them.”
West Monroe came out in the second half and pushed its lead to 26-20 before Underwood drained a 10-footer with 3:40 to play in the quarter to give the Lady Cougars their first points of the second half.
Trailing 30-25 entering the fourth quarter, the Lady Cougars saw Lee drain her second three-pointer from the top of the key and then Hawkins tied the game at 32-32 with a three-pointer with 6:20 remaining.
Following James’ layup with five minutes to play, the Rebels scored six straight to take a 42-36 advantage with 1:48 to play. James made the final two buckets of the night for Creek but it wasn’t enough in the loss.
Underwood added nine points and James scored eight.
Cedar Creek will host Lincoln Prep at 6 p.m. tonight.
