Coach Kelvin Cochran’s Bainbridge High School Lady Cats advanced to the second round of the Region 1-AAAA basketball tournament, with a 73-59 Monday victory over Columbus’s Hardaway High School Lady Golden Hawks. The victory clinched a playoff berth for the Lady Cats; now they are playing for improved seeding and potential home-court advantage.
The tournament, being held at Northside-Columbus High School, takes a day off today and resumes Thursday.
The Lady Cats will play Warner Robins in the tournament semifinals Thursday at 4 p.m. The tournament finals will be on Friday.
“We played with a lot of intensity against Hardaway,” Cochran said. “We held Kym Ellison, their outstanding shooting guard who is going to Georgia Tech, to just 12 points. We had as good an overall defensive effort as we have had all season.
“We also had a balanced offensive attack with four players hitting in double figures. Takia Crankfield led us with 21 points, Briana Wade scored 15, Ri’Chana Jackson scored 13, Alex Carter scored 12 and Diamond Bowie scored 10, Patera Parris scored two.
“We started strong. Briana Wade, Ri’Chana Jackson, Alex Carter and Diamond Bouie all hit three-point shots in the first quarter. That early offensive surge gave us a lot of momentum.”
The Lady Cats led 24-7 at the end of the first quarter. A 12-11 second quarter scoring edge sent them to halftime with a 36-18 lead.