COLBERT – The Colbert Lady Leopards took one more step towards the state tournament on Thursday night with a 59-24 win over the Silo Lady Rebels. The Lady Leopards had three players finish in double-figures with Taylor Lyons and Ginavee Mowles each scoring 14 points and Darian Bradford finishing with 11 points.

“I was really happy with our overall effort tonight,” said Colbert coach Chris Gillespie. “Our focus was there, we played hard, and our defensive effort was really good.”

The Lady Leopards set the tone early in the first quarter with a full-court press that forced several Silo turnovers. Colbert managed to convert most of those turnovers into fast-break points and ran the floor well as a team.

“The girls played aggressively and when we play like that, we can be pretty tough to crack on the defensive end,” said Gillespie.

Mowles scored 7 points in the quarter and Bradford chipped in 5 as Colbert led 19-4 after the first frame. The Lady Rebels were able to slow down the tempo in the second quarter with buckets from Jacque Hendricks and Katlyn Halley. Colbert led 25-10 at halftime after a low-scoring second quarter.

The Lady Leopards picked up the intensity in the opening minutes of the third quarter and outscored the Lady Rebels 19-7. Lyons scored six of her fourteen points in the third as Colbert led 44-17 heading into the fourth. Colbert tacked on 15 more points in the fourth quarter to finish the job.

Taytania Gray finished with 8 points for the Lady Leopards and Katherine Hair scored 5 points. Rachel Anders scored 3 and Samantha Cummins and Haylie McGowan each scored 2 points.

Kenslie Stanley led the Lady Rebels in scoring with 8 points and Rachel Grider finished with 5 points. Mary Grider and Halley each finished with 3 points, Hendricks and Harley Williams scored 2 apiece, and Riley Newton finished with 1 point.

The Silo Lady Rebels will head to Crowder for an elimination game on Friday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. against the loser of the Wister v. Crowder contest.

The Caddo Lady Bruins will also be playing at Crowder on Friday after a 43-22 win in an elimination game earlier against Haworth. The Lady Bruins will square off against the loser of the Howe v. Preston game at 6:30 p.m.

As for the Lady Leopards, they will play the winner of Howe v. Preston on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. That game will also be at Crowder.