The Lady Cats started the afternoon with their most thrilling game all season against the Lady Indians.

The Lady Cats held the lead when the clock winded down to the final two minutes of the game, but the players let their excitement get the best of them.

“At that point, my girls started celebrating too soon and lost sight of the fact that the game was not over,” Lady Cats coach Dorothy Pierce said. “Mental mistakes and turnovers pretty much cost us the game.”

The game ended with the score at 23-18.

Cheteria Jones led the Lady Cats with nine points, followed by Tytianna Roseborough with four points. Game scoring honors went to Lady Indian LeDashia Williams, who poured in 15 points.

“Overall, we still have a lot of work to do in order to eliminate turnovers and make shots down the stretch,” Pierce said. “We missed a lot of easy baskets.”

Pierce said she and the team would continue to work on basic fundamentals, rebounding and conditioning. But despite the Lady Cat’s win falling through, she was impressed with the work and sweat her players put into the game.

“I was impressed with the way in which the Lady Cats executed breaking the press,” she said. “Jasmine Rainey and Cheteria Jones did an outstanding job of stepping up, hustling and motivating the players.”

The eighth grade Lady Cats and Bearcats play again next Wednesday against Cairo. Tip off is at 4:30 p.m. for the Lady Cats and 5:30 p.m. for the Bearcats.