With region tournaments set to begin this week, there was just one last item of business to take care of last Friday night – a county basketball showdown between Coldwater and Strayhorn
In a marathon contest, the Strayhorn Lady Mustangs defeated Coldwater 43-38, while the Cougars got revenge in the boys’ game with a 65-59 win.
Coldwater jumped out to an early 16-11 lead in the girls’ contest, only for the Lady Mustangs to rally back and trim the deficit to 20-17 with 2:47 remaining in the first half.
Strayhorn went into the locker room trailing 23-21 at halftime and came out firing to start the second half, as the Lady Mustangs’ 8-0 run made it a 25-23 lead.
Basketball is a game of runs, however, and Strayhorn learned that the hard way late in the third, as Coldwater stormed back on an 11-2 run to close out the third period. The Lady Mustangs then countered with a 6-0 run two minutes into the final quarter, taking a 35-34 lead on the Lady Cougars.
Foul trouble would plague Coldwater down the stretch and that made the ultimate difference for the Lady Mustangs, as Strayhorn scored eight of the last 11 points to pull out the victory.
Senior Callie Bardo led all scorers with 19 points for the Lady Mustangs, while Ragan Daniels chipped in 11.
Coldwater got off to a strong start in the boys’ contest as well, but the Cougars 20-12 lead late in the first half was soon overtaken by an 11-3 run from the Mustangs, pushing Strayhorn ahead 26-23.
Colton Cannon heated up for the Mustangs from beyond three-point range, as he finished the first half with 15 points and a 34-30 Strayhorn lead.
Coldwater proved to be just too much down the stretch though, as the Cougars pulled out the road win to conclude the regular season. Torrance Matthews led Coldwater with 28 points, followed by 23 from Montarrious Lipford.
Strayhorn’s Jalen Skipper led all scorers with 33 points.
