Cougars hold on for win over Chiefs

CHAMPLAIN | The Northeastern Clinton girls varsity basketball team saw a 15-point lead vanish March 19 against rival Saranac thanks in large part to the play of Chief Sydney Myers, but were able to respond late for a 62-56 win. Leading 35-20 in the third, the Chiefs outscored the Cougars, 27-11, including a 12-2 run to start the fourth quarter in taking a 47-46 lead. The run was sparked by Myers, who scored all 27 of her points in the last 16 minutes of play, all but 10 of Saranac's 37 total second-half points. The Cougars responded as Abby Racine connected on eight of her 26 points in the final minutes, helping give her team a 16-9 edge to end the game. "Saranac always gets us in our weakest moments and comes back," said Racine. "Myers came out and was practically unconscious in the last two quarters. It was hard for us because we were focusing on Payton (Couture) for most of the game. When she started hitting, it was hard for us to decide which girl to focus on." Racine added the Cougars were able to get the Chiefs into foul trouble in the second half. "It was big for us to focus," she said. "We couldn't let ourselves get into foul trouble. We had to get the ball in the net. We had to play smart because Saranac is a really smart team. They want to get us into foul trouble early, but tonight we returned the favor. We had to play physical because they are one of the most physical teams in the league." Bailee LaFountain scored 10 for the Cougars. "I realized that I had to step it up tonight, I had to dig deep and come out to play," said LaFountain. "We had to settle down and play our game like we know how to play." Bryn Sample and Audi Hollister each scored nine points in the win, while Marlie Sample added eight. "We had to settle and play our game how we know how to do it," Hollister said. "We had to work together as a team. We knew that we had to make smart choices. Fouls are a really big thing when you are playing against a team like that." Payton Couture added 14 points for the Chiefs, tying her for 34th on Section VII all-time girls scoring list with NCCS grad Rachel Coryea at 1,215. Allison Garman scored six points for the Chiefs, before fouling out, while Brenna Ducatte added five and Raegan Mulverhill four.

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Cougars hold on for win over Chiefs

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