NOXAPATER – The Noxapater Lady Tigers used a second half surge to eliminate the Bogue Chitto Lady Cats 66-56 Thursday night in the quarterfinals of the girls 1A South State Tournament.

The Lady Cats, coached by Christi Terrell, concludes their season with a 25-8 worksheet.

Noxapater 66, Bogue Chitto 56 

The Lady Cats of Bogue Chitto came out strong in the opening quarter and quickly pounced on the Lady Tigers to grab a 19-9 lead.

In the second quarter, BC continued to roll as they overwhelmed Noxapater with a 15-10 run to take a commanding 34-19 lead into halftime.

In the second half, the tide quickly turned to Noxapater’s favor as the Lady Tigers outscored the Lady Cats 18-10 to fight back into the contest as BC led 44-37 after three quarter of action.

In the final frame of action, the Lady Cats did not catch any breaks as they tried to knock off the hostesses in the opening game, but the Lady Tigers’ offense managed to catch fire and hammered BC with a 29-12 run to steal away the victory.

Sophomore guard Zariah Matthews was the top scorer for the Lady Cats with a game-high 24 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals and 3 assists. Senior forward Mattie Avants contributed 19 points and had 4 rebounds. Sophomore forward Christian Black chipped 13 points and grabbed 6 rebounds. Lauren McCaffrey was the leader on the boards with 8 rebounds.

“The girls played very hard,” said Terrell. “We came out ready to play and gained a big lead in the first half. It is hard to beat a team that shoots 29 free throws to your 5 free throws.”

Noxapater was 19-of-29 from the free throw line, while BC finished 3-of-5 at the charity stripe.

“The girls once again had a great year and I love how hard they played,” continued Terrell. “These girls are special to me and we will all be returning next year except our senior Mattie Avants, who was a great example on and off the court for the past six years.”

Treasure Lynch powered the Lady Tigers with a team-high 22 points. Hanna Hamilton provided 19 points. Kiera Phillips added 12 points.