Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 The Neosho County Panthers women's basketball team posted a 1-1 record over the weekend at the Best Western Angus Inn/Cougar Booster Classic. They dropped the opener to host Barton 84-69 but bounced back to win the second game against Brown Mackie 101-96.
 
Barton opened the game on a 12-0 run before the Maryiln Goss got the Panthers on the board with a free throw. The lead would stay around 10 for much of the first half before a late run by the Cougars pushed the lead out to 19 at halftime.
 
After three consecutive games scoring a career high, the Cougars did a good job bottling up Ashley Grant in the first half. They held Grant to just seven first half points on 3 of 14 shooting.
 
The second half opened with a quick bucket to extend Barton's lead to 21 points. The Panthers began to slowly chip away at the lead. Mackenzie Dunbar's steal and layup capped a 10-3 run that pulled Neosho within 12 with 7:45 to play, but that is as close as they would get.
 
After being bottled up for much of the first half, Grant caught fire in the second half scoring 21 points on 9 of 14 from the field. Grant finished with a game high 28 points along with 8 rebounds in the contest.
 
Jaycee Fourkiller was the only other Panthers to reach double figures as she finished with 16 points including four three pointers.
 
Saturday the Panthers would be the team to jump out to an early lead. Neosho County opened the game on a 12-0 run against Brown Mackie to take control of the ballgame. The Panthers controlled the first 10 minutes of the ball game and increased the lead to 14 on Madigan Gonzales' jumper with 8:38 to go in the first half.
 
Brown Mackie would go on a run of their own to close out the first half. The Lions went on a 19-8 run to storm back and take the lead at 48-47 with 2:32 to go in the half. The Panthers responded to take a five point lead, but Brown Mackie once again answered and took a 54-53 at halftime.
 
The Lions would open up their largest lead of the game at 65-59 with 15:37 to play. Ashley Grant then hit a three to cut the lead to three before her basket and made free throw tied the game at 65. Brown Mackie's three with 11:24 left gave them a 1 point lead.
 
Neosho would regain the lead and never give it up as they pushed the lead to as many as 10 points holding off Brown Mackie in a shootout 101-96.
 
Ashley Grant once again recorded a career high as she finished with a school record 42 points. She also pulled down 12 rebounds for her second double-double of the week.
 
Daryane Yarbrough and Madigan Gonzales joined Grant in double figures with most of their points coming from the line. Yarbrough finished with a career best 15 points including a perfect 9 for 9 from the free throw line. Gonzales added 11 points while shooting 7 for 9 from the line. For the game the Panthers were 38 of 48 from the line compared to just 15 of 22 from Brown Mackie.
 
Neosho County is now 6-6 on the season. The six wins in November are the most for the Panthers in since they won 6 in the 2004-05 season. The Panthers will be back in action Monday (Dec. 2) when they travel to Pratt Community College. The Beavers won the previous meeting between these two teams 86-70 in the Neosho Hoops Classic earlier this season.