Playing in the district with a nationally-ranked team has its obvious advantages. And though they fell to them (Cy-Fair) twice in district play, the Cypress Springs girls basketball team came into Tuesday night trying to make a statement in a 5A bi-district match up against Cinco Ranch.

When it was all said and done, Cy Springs came out on the short end, losing 60-50 at Katy High School, but the Panthers definitely gave the Cougars a run for their money.

“Cy Springs came out and played us tough and they played hard. We weren’t mentally ready,” Cinco Ranch coach Eric Bartlett said. “But we came out, picked it up, and hit some shots. We had some people out there who were comatose and they had no conscious and just shot when they wanted and it went in. Our shooters pulled us out of this one.”

And there were quite a few hot hands on the court. Setting the tone early was Cinco Ranch’s Kelsey Clinch, who hit three 3-pointers before halftime.

Cy Springs’ Nicoya Jackson kept her team in the game with perimeter shooting.

But with Clinch dropping buckets for the Cougars, star Briana Gilbreath was allowed time to get her rhythm.

“Kelsey is a shooter and there is no doubt about that because she’s a scorer,” Bartlett said. “She can take it to the hole or shoot a jump shot. Bri is our All-American and she is our glue. Those two feed off of each other very well. You know, Demi Clinch and Kellie Ros also came in to hit some buckets. We have some people who can shoot the ball so it is hard for teams to just concentrate on Bri.”

Though the shots were falling for the Cougars and they kept the lead throughout the game, their usual fast-paced game was slowed down tremendously by the Panthers’ rebounds and second-chance points.

“We like to shoot quick and we like to run, that’s what we want to do,” Bartlett said. “Give credit to Cy Springs because they threw us a little off rhythm they did a good job of slowing us down.”

Leading the way for the Cougars was Kelsey Clinch who had 18 points. Gilbreath, Demi Clinch, and Brandy Dittert each contributed 10 points.

For the Panthers, Jackson had 16 points while Briana Tolbert cashed in 11 points.

Cinco Ranch will face Nimitz in the area round. Time, date and location were not available at press time.

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