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ORANGEFIELD – They may be young, but the Orangefield Lady Bobcats continue to show tremendous improvement for first-year head basketball coach Eric Girola.

That was never more evident during their very own Tennison Tournament when the Lady Bobcats turned back the Evadale Lady Rebels 47-44.

The Lady Rebels checked into the game ranked No. 7 in the latest Texas High School Girls Coaches Association Class 2A state poll but the Lady Bobcats fought and scrapped their way to a nice victory.

The Lady Bobcats received a huge effort from junior post Greenlea Oldham. The Lady Rebels had no answer for Oldham inside as she powered her way to a game-high 20 points to go along with a game-high 18 rebounds.

The Lady Bobcats led 13-8 at the end of the first quarter with Oldham scoring nine points in the period.

Guard Mallorie Dougharty kept the Lady Rebels close. Dougharty buried three three-pointers in the first half and helped get Evadale to within 24-21 at the half. Dougharty finished with a team-high 16 points.

The Lady Bobcats expanded their lead to 38-30 by the end of the third quarter. Brooklyn Waggoner scored all six of her points for the Lady Bobcats in the quarter, burying two three-point missiles.

Dougharty and fellow Lady Rebel guard Kelsin Bruce teamed up for 12 points in the fourth quarter as Evadale came all the way back to tie things up at 40-40. Bruce finished with 12 pints.

However, the Lady Bobcats made key defensive plays down the stretch and got seven big points inside by Oldham to hold back the Lady Rebels.

The Lady Bobcats did a number on the boards against the Lady Rebels, outrebounding them 42-23. Orangefield did finish with 21 turnovers while Evadale had just 12.

Harleigh Rawls had six points and six boards for Orangefield. Sterling Richard contributed six points while Ava Dyer collected five rebounds.

Madison Cotton had eight points and a team-high nine rebounds for Evadale while Addison Henderson had seven boards.

It was a nice rebound win for the Lady Bobcats, who dropped a tight 40-8 dcision to Vidor in an earlier tourney game.

Rawls led the Lady Bobcats with 20 points and had three rebounds. Oldham contributed 10 points and six boards while Brianna Moore added six points.

Other scores in the tourney included Port Arthur Memorial defeating Warren 44-40, Cleveland nipped Evadale 40-38, Pa Memorial toppled Vidor 55-44 and Wafren eded Cleveland 44-43.

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Orangefield boys

FRANKLIN – The Orangefield Bobcats snagged two big wins at the Franklin Tournament on the first day of action.

The Bobcats (14-4), ranked No. 17 in the latest Class 3A state poll, defeated sixth-ranked Corpus Christi London 62-50 and also downed Caldwell 62-45.

The Bobcats went on a 18-4 scoring spurt in the fourth quarter.

Pete Ragusa had a huge outing for the Bobcats, scoring 32 points and adding four assists and four steals. Ragusa connected on 12-of-24 shots and made three three-pointers.

Zane Wrinkle collected 11 points and seven rebounds. Morgan Sampson had six points. Jaden Scales contributed five points and four steals. Kane Smith had five assists and four steals while Cameron Dischler had five rebounds.

In the win against CC London, Ragusa remained hot, scoring 28 points to go along with three steals.

Brayden Parker had 11 points and five rebounds. Jaden Scales had eight points while Zane Wrinkle had seven and Morgan Sampson six. Cameron Dischler hauled down nine rebounds.