After rallying from an early double-digit deficit, the Leesville Lady Cats battled back to take a lead in the fourth quarter.
However, it appeared as if Leesville ran out of gas late as the Red River Lady Bulldogs used a game-ending 12-3 surge to pick up a 56-48 victory over the Lady Cats.
Red River (3-6) jumped out to an early 5-0 lead with a bucket and three-pointer from Lenisha Palmer.
A basket from Elexus Featherston got Leesville on the board and the Lady Cats got two buckets a little later from Tiffany Wallace, along with another shot from Featherston to get to within three of the lead, 11-8.
However, the Lady Bulldogs got a bucket from Chanterrica Jones, along with a shot from Lakerrica Dixon to take a 15-8 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Behind a couple of buckets from Palmer, the Lady Bulldogs moved out to an 11-point lead early in the second period, but behind the exploits of Wallace, the Lady Cats rallied.
Wallace scored 10 of Leesville’s 15 points in the second quarter, helping the Lady Cats get to within two points at the halftime intermission, 25-23.
The Lady Bulldogs attempted to hold off the Lady Cats during the course of the third quarter, moving back out to a sizable lead before Leesville made another move.
Trailing by four, 33-29, the Lady Cats got buckets from Dominique Rodriguez, Martia Pelmore and Wallace, giving Leesville its first lead of the game, 35-33.
Later in the frame, Wallace added five more points to give Leesville the lead going into the final eight minutes of regulation, 40-38.
Red River used a quick 5-0 run to open the fourth quarter, getting all five points from Palmer.
However, Leesville countered with three points from Jasmine Wright and a bucket from freshman Chelsea Martin, giving the Lady Cats a 45-44 advantage.
However, Palmer converted a conventional three-point play for a 47-45 Red River lead and a free throw from Dixon gave the Lady Bulldogs a three-point edge.
Leesville got back to within two points on a free throw by Wright, who added a bucket later on in the frame.
However, Red River managed to pull away late to secure the victory.
Palmer paced the Lady Bulldogs with 23 points, while Jones followed up with 20 points in the win.
Wallace led all scorers with 25 points for Leesville. She also had a team-high 15 rebounds in the loss.
Featherston and Wright each netted six points in the game for the Lady Cats, while Rodriguez added four points and seven rebounds in the loss.