The second seeded Bainbridge High School Lady Cats finished a third in the Region 1-AAAA Basketball Tournament last week at Americus-Sumter County High School.

The Lady Cats knocked off Albany’s Monroe High School Lady Tornadoes 52-45 Friday night in the Region 1-AAAA tournament consolation game to nail down third place.

The Lady Cats led the Lady Tornadoes 24-20 at halftime after outscoring them 14-12 in the second quarter.

A 16-14 scoring edge in the third quarter sent the Lady Cats to the fourth quarter with a 40-34 advantage. They then outscored the Lady Tornadoes 12-11 in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.

The Lady Cats featured a balanced scoring attack with Tyra Smart, with 14 points, and Nadia Marshall, with 11 points, leading the way. Alexis Russ had nine, Asia Gordon scored eight and Rakia Hughes scored six to help the Lady Cats secure the third place finish.

Coach Kelvin Cochran expressed pleasure with his team’s tournament effort, pointing out the good balance in scoring.

“We have struggled a little offensively, but our defense has been strong,” Cochran said. “Everyone is hustling and playing strong defense.”

The Lady Cats travel to Jonesboro today to meet the Jonesboro High School Lady Cardinals, who finished second in region 4-AAAA, in the first round State Tournament at 6 p.m. The Lady Cardinals are 20-4 on the season.

Cochran said that he doesn’t know much about Jonesboro except that they have two talented guards.