Copper Basin’s Lady Cougars hosted South Pittsburg Friday, December 15, for a non-district basketball game. The game stayed close until the second quarter, when the Lady Cougars pulled ahead and never looked back, cruising to a 60-46 win.
Sophomore Alexis Hyatt put Basin ahead 10-5 with 4:19 to go in the opening period, and then again with 1:53 left, to go up 14-9. The Lady Pirates scored the last five points of the quarter to even the score at 16-16 heading to the second period. Hyatt scored eight points in the first quarter, while junior Zoe Green tossed in four points.
In the second period, freshman Kloie Ballew hit back-to-back buckets to put Basin up 20-16 with 6:14 left before the break, and the Lady Cougars started to pull away from the visitors. Sophomore Peyton Grabowski drilled a three-pointer to put Basin up 25-16 with 5:42 to go in the half and another sophomore, Cora Kimsey, knocked down a basket to give the hosts a 33-21 lead with 1:07 left. Kimsey drained a three-pointer at the buzzer to extend the Lady Cougar lead up to 36-24 at halftime. Sophomore point guard Kendra Deal finished the first half with six points for the Lady Cougars.
Coming out of the locker room, Copper Basin kept adding to their lead as Hyatt scored the first six points of the third period to give her team a 43-26 lead. Green and sophomore Riley Akens hit a free throw in the third quarter and headed to the fourth quarter, Copper Basin led 51-37.
Akens made another basket with 5:42 left in the ballgame to keep the Basin lead at 16 points, and Deal knocked down a free throw with 1:33 left, while Ballew sank two more as the Lady Cougars sent South PItt home with a loss, as Copper Basin beat the visitors 60-46.