The Lady Bears wrapped up their season at Sequoyah High School, February 8th, against the Sprayberry Yellow Jackets.  The Bears lost, 56-51, but it was a nail biter until the very end.

The Lady Bears were out of the gate quickly and had an 11-7 lead after the 1st quarter, but the Yellow Jackets were able to hang tough and tied the game at 15-15 in the 2nd quarter.  At the half, the Bears were down, 32-17.

The Bears came back out after half time and were able to pull within 10 points by the end of the 3rd quarter.  With 1:51 remaining on the clock in the 4th, Karlie Allen hit a 3-pointer to help pull the Bears within 7, with a score of 49-42.  Sprayberry made a free throw, making the score 50-42, but then Karlie hit another 3 and was fouled.  After making her free throw to complete a rare 4-point play, the Bears were within 4 points, 50-46 with :55 seconds on the clock.  The Lady Bears were still within four with 25 seconds left, and Lauren Chang hit a shot with 4.7 seconds left from just inside half-court, but the Bears came up just short on the scoreboard.  56-51 was the final as Sprayberry ended the second season in Cambridge history.

For the untrained eye or solely looking at the overall record of the Lady Bears varsity basketball team, one might not recognize the progress made in year two.  In a region with as many as 3 teams present in the AAAAA top 10 rankings the Lady Bears battled every game with a roster consisting of 5 freshmen, 3 sophomores, and 2 juniors.

Lady Bears Varsity Coach Lesley Broadwell says they were determined to not let age, size, or experience be an excuse.  "We grew offensively and defensively compared to year one, scoring more points and giving up less points than the initial season.  We are still in a huge learning curve as far as figuring out what it takes to win at the varsity level, but we are determined to become a factor in our region and ultimately the state level."

Broadwell says she is extremely proud of junior, Ali LoPiccolo for being named Honorable Mention All-Region 7AAAAA. "Ali led the Lady Bears in points, rebounds, and minutes played and her solid play and calming style kept us in many games."

Congratulations Lady Bears on Year Two at Cambridge High School.

Go Bears!!