Marengo ladies fall to CCHS as Chess drops 31

(LADIES) CCHS@MHS (DEC 19, 2013)	1ST	2ND	3RD	4th	FINAL
CHOCTAW COUNTY TIGERS	10	8	19	18	55
MARENGO PANTHERS (4-2, 3-0)	13	14	7	17	51

DIXON’S MILLS—The Lady Panthers of Marengo seemed as though they had Thursday’s contest against the visiting CCHS Lady Tigers in full tow before seeing the wheels fall off after half, eventually falling 55-51.

The Lady Panthers have been rolling along rather smoothly through the first part of this 2013-14 season, allowing the MHS Ladies to enter Thursday’s non-league matchup with an unblemished area record and their only loss coming by way of late-game drama more than 10 days ago against Linden.

That all changed on Thursday, however, when Marengo faced off against an offense it had not seen before.  It was largely a one-woman show all night long for the visiting Lady Tigers.

CCHS’s Angelique Chess put together runs of double digits by her lonesome as she was in her groove from the get-go. Even when she wasn’t putting balls in buckets, her energy and impact on the court was distinctly impressive.

After Marengo cruised into the break with a nine-point lead that felt more like 19, the CCHS ladies stormed back with more oomph than anyone could have anticipated. The 19-7 third period answer for Choctaw County was a straight beat down of its opposition, and not at all what the mighty Lady Panthers are used to.

Coach Miller’s Panthers have never been the type of unit to throw in the towel prematurely. And if you’ve seen MHS Ladies in action, chances are you’re more than aware of the firepower they have capable of late-game heroics.

Indeed Marengo fought and clawed its way to the final buzzer, answering back with 17 points in the final eight minutes to at least keep itself within striking distance.  The only problem was that the Tigers continued playing at a high level, stringing together 18 more points in the fourth, giving them a total of 37 second-half points before solidifying the lead in the form of the 55-51 road win.

Chess would finish with more than half of her team’s score total with 31 points.

Marengo’s leading scorer was Alesia Bowser who had 22 points. She finished with seven rebounds and four steals as well.

Kiana Lewis was the other Panther in double figures as her final stat line would show 13 points, eight rebounds, and three steals.

MHS will travel to McIntosh Saturday.