TEXARKANA, Texas - One thing to count on when Pleasant Grove and Liberty-Eylau tangle in a District 15-4A game is an ultra competitive contest between cross-town rivals.
The Lady Leopards fell to the Lady Hawks on Tuesday night at the Rader Dome, 57-47.
"I thought we didn't play our game, and I also thought we didn't play well at all," Pleasant Grove head coach Marsha Cowling said. "I'm glad we found a way to win. Some of our girls stepped up for us tonight, and we also got ourselves in foul trouble. I don't think we were ready to play at the beginning."
Ja'Niya Sanders tied the game at 37 for the Leopards on a offensive putback.
Pleasant Grove pulled away down the stretch, leading by as much as 11 points with 90 seconds left in the game, 54-43.
Eliyah Howard led the Leopards with 16 points, four rebounds and two steals, while teammate Sanders added 11 points and five rebounds.
The second half began much like the first half ended.
Daycoria Meadows finished with 11 points and six rebounds for L-E, while teammate Kayla Crabtree contributed five points..
Both teams traded baskets on their first two possessions and both played full-court press on the inbounds passes.
Shanequa Henry drained a corner three-pointer to give the Hawks their first lead of the half, 32-28, with 4:12 left in the period.
Kayla Crabtree was fouled by a PG defender to end the quarter and knocked down both shots from the charity stripe to slice into the Hawks advantage.
The Hawks edged the Leopards heading into the final period by basket, 37-35.
"Like I told our girls, when you play a limited number of girls, you have to call timeouts down the stretch," Liberty-Eylau head coach Aquanetta Watson said. "We kept fighting and we didn't give up. I told our team we would've won the game if we would've gotten back on defense and cut the fast-break points in half.
"We're going to go back and watch film so we can correct our mistakes before our next game. We'll try to get them next time."
Both teams matched buckets to begin the second quarter.
Asia Lloyd ended her night with five points for the Hawks and teammate Miaya Ware added three points.
Liberty-Eylau separated themselves from their district foe in the second period with their backside rebounds on defense and transition baskets offensively.
Keshawn Davis imposed her will in the post for the Hawks. The Hawks trailed by five points with 0:30 before halftime and Davis scored consecutive baskets to bring the Hawks within a point.
Davis ended her night with 17 points and six rebounds for PG.
Henry went the length of the court for a fast-break layup to give the Hawks the lead at halftime, 25-24.
Henry ended the contest with a game-high 22 points and four rebounds for the Hawks.
"Keshawn and Shanequa played well for us tonight," Cowling said. "Ashanti Levingston played really good defense for us tonight. Bryana Block also knocked down some big shots for us in the second half.
"We also got good minutes out of Phoebe Robertson tonight. She played well for us and it really helped. If we can't play our game and have more emotion, you aren't going to go very far in the playoffs."
The Leopards held the early advantage over the Hawks in the opening period.
The Hawks were able to recapture the lead in the first quarter from the charity stripe.
Both teams were called for seven fouls each in the first period.
PG edged L-E at the end of the first quarter, 11-9.
"I'm proud of our team," Watson said. "We're still really young, so we're figuring some things out. We're also trying to figure each other out. We're making do with what we have and I'm fine with that. I'm proud of them for sticking in there and hanging tough. I start two freshmen and a sophomore, so these are big moments for them.
"I told the girls that all of our district games were playoff atmosphere, and we can't let the hype of the game get to us. We put up a fight until there was triple zeros on the clock. Like I told them, win or lose, I wouldn't trade them for anything in the world."
The Leopards travel to Paris on Friday for a district game, and the Hawks will host Pittsburg.