BEAUMONT —
They rallied the best they could from a big deficit and even took a lead late, but the Orangefield Lady Bobcats couldn’t quite pull it out Friday night as they fell to the Houston Yates Lady Lions 60-53 in the area round of the Class 3A Region III area round of the playoffs at Beaumont West Brook.
The Lady Bobcats (16-13) trailed the 23-3A champion Lady Lions (21-7) 46-33 entering the fourth period but Orangefield found its groove in the last stanza and actually grabbed a 53-52 lead with 1:52 left after senior Megan Burton drilled two free throws.
However, the Lady Bobcats had three crucial turnovers down the stretch and the Lady Lions ran off with the game’s last eight points with feisty guard Kardeza Hicks scoring six of them.
The Yates win offset an outstanding performance by Lady Bobcat senior post Morgan Moss, who powered her way inside for a game-high 26 points. Moss scored 15 points in the second half and finished with seven rebounds.
Burton finished with 10 points and the senior was a perfect 8-for-8 from the free-throw line and added six rebounds. Senior Morgan Worthy added seven points and five boards for Orangefield while fellow senior Kacey LeBlanc contributed six points and three rebounds.
Hicks led the Yates attack with 18 points, 10 of them coming in the fourth period. Jessica Allen had 10 points, hit two three-pointers and added five rebounds. Andrea Moore scored nine points, including two three-pointers while post Elisha Ray had eight points and 10 rebounds before fouling out early in the fourth. Amari Albrow also added eight points.
See the weekend edition of The Orange Leader for the complete story.
