The Bainbridge High School Lady Cats dropped a close 48-43 basketball decision to the Colquitt County High School Lady Packers Tuesday night.

The game was close throughout. The lady Packers won 13-12 at the end of the first quarter. Then the Lady Cats outscored them 14-13 in the second quarter to tie it 26-26 at halftime.

A 12-10 third quarter scoring edge enabled the Lady Packers to enter the fourth quarter with a 38-36 advantage. The Lady Cats outscored the Lady Packers 17-10 in the fourth quarter to fall just short.

The Lady Cats had the ball with the game tied 43-43 and under 30 seconds remaining but were unable to set up a shot to potentially take the lead.

“We stayed focused and came back late with a chance to win,” Lady Cats coach Kelvin Cochran said after the game. I told the players I was proud of them and if they continue to focus and close games out when they have the chance, some good things can happen. We have got to be able to put teams away when we get the chance.”

The Lady Cats featured a balanced scoring attack Tuesday night. Tamra Levens led the way with 12 points. Alexandria Carter added seven points, and Beonka Madge put in six points. Makela Gordon of the Lady Packers took game scoring honors with 24. Beshala Polite scored nine points for the Lady Packers.

Coach Cochran liked the way his team worked the ball around and got it inside for good shots Tuesday night.

“We did a lot of things well against Colquitt County,” he said. “We just need to continue to do them on a more consistent basis. I cannot fault our effort and we need to continue to have it night in and night out.”

The Lady Cats concluded the pre-holiday regular season portion of their schedule Friday when they traveled to Thomasville for a game with the Thomasville High School Lady Bulldogs.