Lady Bobcats make waves at tournaments

The Woodland Lady Bobcats showed they can be competitive and win against the best the state has to offer after strong showings in holiday tournaments.

In the Cherokee County Invitational, following an opening-round win over Cedar Bluff, the Lady Bobcats continued to advance with a decisive win over Collinsville, 73-60.

“They had three good girls they could play,” Woodland head coach Larry Strain said. “They were the first real competition we’ve played all year. We got up the floor and pressed and created turnovers.”

Woodland held a 38-32 lead at the half, and with a strong third quarter in which the Lady Cats outscore Collinsville 20-10, cruised to victory.

Leah Strain led the squad with 32 points and 8 rebounds while Shanna Strain had 16 points and Amy Strain added 11 points.

The win over Collinsville put them against Class 4A Cherokee County in the tournament’s championship game.

Woodland played its style of basketball leading to a 59-50 win over Cherokee County and the tournament title.

“Going into the game, I didn’t know if we could match up with them size-wise,” Strain said. “There’s only so many teams in the state that caliber. At that level, everybody plays good defense.”

After falling behind in the first quarter, 16-14, Woodland closed the gap a bit going into halftime trailing only 27-26.

It was Woodland’s second-half surge that got the job done. Woodland outscored Cherokee County 13-8 in the third quarter and 20-15 in the fourth quarter to make the final 59-50.

“They weren’t able to shoot as many threes,” Strain said. “We kept it up-tempo and kept the ball out of the guards’ hands. It was a good win for us.”

Leah Strain led the team with 31 points and 7 rebounds with Shanna Strain contributing 9 points in the win.

Between tournament appearances, Woodland earned a 64-38 win over state-line rival Bowdon, Ga.

Bowdon wasn’t able to keep up with Woodland’s high-pressure, fast-paced attack in the first half. Woodland outscored Bowdon 18-13 in the first quarter and 29-10 in the second quarter to make the halftime score 47-23.

“We played about as good a first half as we’ve played,” Strain said. “We kind of broke their back in the second quarter. I don’t think they thought we were as good as we were. We just kept pressing and waiting for them to make a mistake. It was a good game for us.”

Woodland cruised through the second half to take the 64-38 victory before heading off to the next tournament.

The Lady Bobcats made their next appearance on the court at the Lauderdale County Christmas Tournament, a tournament matching some of the best teams in Class 1A through 3A.

Woodland lost its first tournament game to Belmont, Miss., which has won two of the last three state titles in its class in Mississippi.

“All five of their players could play,” Strain said. “They’ve got similar players to us, but they’ve got two good post players as well.”

Belmont took a 14-11 lead in the first quarter and led 30-20 at the half.

Woodland was able to close the gap a bit in the second half, outscoring Belmont 35-33, but it wasn’t enough to knock off the Mississippi powerhouse.

“When you’re playing someone as athletic as them, you can’t make turnovers,” Strain said. “The turnovers hurt us and it took us a while to adjust. It was a good game for us and it was what we needed.”

Leah Strain led the Lady Bobcats with 33 points while Shalyn Strain added 9 points in the effort.

Woodland quickly bounced back in the next round with a 66-51 win over Colbert County.

From the outset, Woodland made Colbert County play its style of ball.

“It was two different styles of teams,” Strain said. “They’re big and half-court oriented. We made them get up and down the floor with us.”

Woodland took a 21-8 lead at the end of the first quarter and led 36-24 at the end of the first half.

The Lady Bobcats continued to roll in the second half with the score 60-34 in favor of Woodland going into the fourth quarter.

Amy Strain led the Lady Cats with 13 points while Leah Strain and Shalyn Strain each scored 12 points.

Woodland then earned another big win, 68-56, over Class 2A Hatton, a potential foe in the playoffs.

Woodland jumped out to a 25-13 lead in the first quarter and held a 41-28 lead at the half. Hatton outscore Woodland 28-27 in the second half, but the first half lead was all the Lady Cats needed.

“I felt like we played well,” Strain said. “We started off on fire. We were shooting well from the perimeter and made them play our style of game.”

Leah Strain led the squad with 39 points with Jaide Walker and Shanna Strain each contributing 10 points.

Woodland followed up the Hatton win with a 67-65 win over Class 2A Mars Hill, another potential playoff threat.

“They mirrored us a lot,” Strain said. “They ran the floor and handled the ball well.”

Woodland held a 20-10 lead at the end of the first quarter, but led only 38-36 going into halftime. With a slim 55-54 advantage at the end of the third quarter, Woodland made the key shots in the fourth quarter to come away with the win.

“Our defensive pressure didn’t affect them as much,” Strain said. “Our kids made some plays when they needed to.”

Leah Strain led Woodland with 38 points while Amy Strain contributed 17 points in the win.

Woodland finished its tournament run with a 56-40 victory over Class 3A Rogers.

Once again, it was the Woodland defensive pressure that made the difference.

The Lady Bobcats took a 16-8 lead in the first quarter and extended the lead to 31-13 at the half. There was little Rogers could do in the second half to make up the deficit.

Leah Strain led the team with 18 points, followed by Shanna Strain with 12 points and Amy Strain and Shalyn Strain each with 9 points.

The Woodland Lady Bobcats now sit with a 14-1 overall record coming into January.

“We had a great tournament,” Strain said. “We played some tough people and that’s what we needed to do.”