The Clinton County Lady Bulldogs won its’ fourth game of the season Saturday night as Clinton County traveled to district rival Cumberland County.

The Lady Bulldogs fell behind in the third quarter, but managed to grab the five point victory, 65-60.

The game saw Clinton County head to the line to shoot 50 free throws, hitting 35 for 70 percent on the night.

Clinton County made the game interesting during the first several minutes of the contest.

Stevi Morgan drew first blood with a three point play off the first possession, 3-0.

Cumberland County answered with a three pointer and followed with another three pointer to take a 6-3 lead.

The Lady Dawgs rallied and put together a 16-0 run to lead the Lady Panthers 19-6 with 1:14 on the clock. Cumberland County hit two free throws in the final minute to finish the quarter, 19-8.

At the start of the second quarter, Clinton County began to relax a bit as Cumberland County started to chip away at the lead.

The Lady Panthers hit a three pointer with 7:37 on the clock, but Shyanne McWhorter hit two shots from the foul line to give the Lady Dawgs a 10 point lead, 21-11.

Cumberland County hit two free throws to cut the lead to eight points, but two of Alex Beard’s career high 15 points came at the 5:03 mark to extend the lead back to 10 points.

Both teams traded free throws, hitting only one of two from the line, but with 3:15 remaining in the half, Cumberland County started a run that would cut the Lady Bulldogs’ lead to three at halftime, 27-24.

During the second half, Clinton County’s Beard hit one shot from the foul line, followed by two made shots by Morgan from the foul line for a 32-24 lead.

Cumberland County began chipping away again at Clinton County’s lead and put together a 10-2 run that ended with a four point play from Cumberland County, 36-35, for a one point Lady Panther lead.

Clinton County tied the score at 36 with a foul shot by Beard, but Cumberland County went on a 10-3 run before the end of the third quarter with 10 points in a row scored by Eliza Smith. Cumberland County finished the quarter with a seven point lead, 46-39.

Keistan Dalton hit a three pointer to get to within five, 49-44, but a basket by Cumberland County extended the Lady Panthers lead to seven.

Morgan hit a foul shot to cut the lead to six, but Cumberland County hit a field goal to push the lead to eight points with 5:08 remaining in the game.

Clinton County scored again with 3:07 on the clock, but the Lady Panthers added to its lead off a free throw, 54-48.

With 1:42 on the clock, Cumberland County lost its point guard, Allie Davidson, to her fifth foul. The foul sent Ansley Stalcup to the line where she hit two free throws to cut the lead to four points, 54-50.

Beard was also sent to the line and hit two of two to cut the lead to two points.

With 1:02, Beard nailed the game changing three pointer to give the Lady Dawgs its first lead since the beginning of the third quarter, 55-54, but with under a minute remaining, Cumberland County hit two free throws to regain a one point lead, 56-55.

With 0:42 on the clock, Morgan hit a field goal to take the lead. Cumberland County answered with two free throws for the one point advantage, 58-57, but a foul on Cumberland County while Dalton put up a three pointer, sent her to the line for three points. Dalton made all three for a two point edge, 60-58.

Cumberland County was sent to the line with 18 seconds on the clock and hit one of two to trail by one point.

The Lady Panthers foul immediately on the inbounds pass and send Morgan to the line for two shots. She hit one of two to give the Lady Dawgs a 61-59 lead.

After Morgan missed her second free throw, Thurman was able to grab the rebound and put another shot up. She missed the shot, but was fouled hitting two of two from the line for a 63-59 lead.

After fouling Cumberland County, the Lady Panthers hit one of two from the line to cut the lead to three points. Cumberland County fouled with eight seconds on the clock to send Morgan to the line. With the score 63-60, Morgan hit both shots from the foul line to grab a five point lead and what would end up as the final score.

Cumberland County’s desperation shot at the end of the game was a miss, giving the Lady Bulldogs its fourth victory of the year, 65-60.

During a brief phone conversation with Head Coach Carter Adams on Monday, Adams said he was pleased at how his team didn’t give up during Saturday night’s game.

He also told the NEWS that he has preached all year on giving up too many offensive rebounds and committing too many turnovers.

“We won both of those battles Saturday night,” Adams said. “We out rebounded them, 54-39 and had only 22 turnovers compared to Cumberland County’s 28. It’s nice to reverse the trend.”

Individual scoring for Clinton County was:

Morgan 23

Beard 15

Thurman 10

Dalton 8

Stalcup 5

Elmore 2

McWhorter 2

Clinton County will be back in action on Friday night as the Lady Dawgs travel to Wayne County with varsity action set to start at 6:30 p.m. Saturday night, January 29, the Lady Dawgs will host Logan County. Game time is set for a 5 p.m. tip off.