by Malcolm Butler
Cedar Creek used a strong defensive effort Friday to defeat Rayville 44-26 in its first game of the St. Frederick Tournament.
The Lady Cougars fell Saturday 48-36 to top-ranked Oak Grove to snap Creek’s eight-game winning streak.
In Friday’s win over the Lady Hornets, Cedar Creek allowed only three made field goals in the first half and only nine for the entire game in leading Rayville from start to finish.
“I was pleased with our defense,” said head coach Katie Hall. “I felt like our guards were exerting a lot of energy. I felt like our press gave them problems and led to some steals and some transition points. Defensively, it was a great effort.”
While the Creek defense was stellar, offensively, the Lady Cougars never found a true offensive rhythm. Creek led 13-4 at the end of the first quarter, but just 17-9 at halftime due to turnovers and missed opportunities.
“Offensively, I felt like we were rushing everything,” said Hall. “We have to figure out how to settle down and not feel like we have to go 100 miles an hour all the time. We want to play uptempo, but under control. We need to see what is happening and make the right reads.”
Rayville cut the Creek lead down to 17-14 to start the third quarter before a 15-0 run over a six-minute period allowed the Lady Cougars to put the game away.
Avery Ryan led Creek with 21 points while Mary Grace Hawkins added 10 points.
In Saturday’s loss against Oak Grove, the Lady Cougars played toe-to-toe with one of the top teams in the state and top players in the country.
Creek trailed just 31-29 through three quarters before 5-star recruit Caroline Bradley netted 14 of her game-high 33 points in the fourth quarter to help the Lady Tigers pull away for the win.
Ryan led Creek with 11 points, while Alivia Lee added 10 points.
The Lady Cougars will travel to play at Quitman on Tuesday.
