The Bainbridge Middle School eighth-grade Lady Cats and Bearcats basketball teams ended their seasons on a high note Wednesday, sweeping past Cairo’s Washington Middle School eighth-grade Lady Tigers and Tigers at the Decatur County Memorial Coliseum.

In the opener, coach Latoya Ross’s Lady Cats evened their record at 5-5 with a 26-21 victory over the Lady Tigers, and in the nightcap, coach Heith Maxwell’s Bearcats finished with a 7-3 record, after a 55-27 victory over the Tigers,

The Lady Cats, who Ross praised for their hustle and desire, jumped ahead 15-9 when Asia Gordon, who led the Lady Cats in scoring with 15 points, hit a layup off the right glass at the 1:55 mark of the second quarter. They were up 17-11 at halftime.

The Lady Tigers outscored them 6-0 in the third quarter to pull even at 17-17, entering the fourth quarter. Leading 21-19 early in the fourth quarter, the Lady Cats outscored the Lady Tigers 5-2 the rest of the way to pull out the victory. Tavera Kinder scored eight for the Lady Cats.

In their win over the Tigers, the Bearcats were led by forward Tyree Crump with 16 points. Point guard Jean Genty added 10 and point guard Devantae Jones put in nine.

Maxwell said he was proud of the way his players responded Wednesday and throughout the season when things got tough.

“I challenged the players every day in practice and they all improved,” he said.