CELINA-The Clay County High Lady Bulldogs picked up their biggest win of the season to date here last Tuesday night, battling back from a slow start to notch a win over Jackson County.

The Lady Blue Devils were ranked second in the state in Class A in the latest Associated Press poll and in the Coach T power ratings entering the game, but the Lady Bulldogs turned them back 48-39, after scoring only two points in the first quarter.

CCHS fell to unbeaten and top-ranked statewide Clarkrange on Thursday night, ending a stretch that saw the Lady Dawgs play three teams in a row ranked first or second statewide in their respective classification. The Clay girls lost the previous week to Upperman, ranked first statewide in Class AA by Coach T and second by the Associated Press. 

Lady Dawgs……………48

Jackson County………39

The game got off to a bit of a rocky, slow start for Clay County, as they scored only two points, but they held the visitors to only nine points over the next two quarters to take control and get their 18th win of the season.

Last month in Gainesboro, the teams battled closely for three quarters before a four-point final quarter spelled doom for the Lady Dawgs in a 56-37 loss. 

That cold shooting touch carried over into the first quarter of Tuesday’s game for CCHS, as they trailed 9-2 after one. They didn’t let the slow start get them down, though, as they warmed up some on offense and clamped down on the Lady Blue Devils on defense. 

The Lady Dawgs clawed back to only a two-point deficit (14-12) at intermission, holding Jackson County to five points. They leapfrogged the visitors in the third quarter, outscoring them 15-4 to take a 27-18 lead after three. 

The lead hovered around that final margin through most of the fourth quarter, with the two teams eventually scoring 21 points each, giving the Lady Dawgs their sixth district win of the season. 

Appropriately on Senior Night, a trio of senior CCHS players led the way in scoring.  Amelia Kirk led all scorers in the game with 16, while Katie Kerr added 11. Tristan Watson added nine to round out the senior scoring. 

The Lady Dawgs held Jackson County’s Laken Leonard, the district Co-MVP, to 10 points in the contest. 

LADY DAWGS (48)-Kirk 16, T. Watson 9, Kerr 11, S. Ogletree 1, Kimes 8, Roach 2, E. Ogletree 1. 

Clarkrange……………..53

Lady Dawgs……………32

The murderous three-game stretch for CCHS against “number ones and twos” came to an end against the Lady Buffaloes, who picked up their 29th win of the season and extended their winning streak to 30 the following night against Grace Baptist. 

Clarkrange led all the way and for all practical purposes, put the game away midway through the third quarter. They led 13-4 after one, 27-15 at the half, and stretched that lead out to 40-21 at the end of three, looking like a team headed to a possible eighth state title. 

Sarah Ogletree led the CCHS scoring with 10, including a pair of three-pointers. The Lady Buffaloes hit only one trey in the contest, a bit off their norm, but had three players in double figures.