Lady Coyotes Beat Van-Far, Fall to Monroe City

By Chris Willingham

The Lady Coyotes had a solid week of basketball last week, first, hosting Van-Far on Tuesday night. The Lady Coyotes were not gracious hosts and methodically put away the Lady Indians. Paris led 15-7 at the end of the first quarter and then slightly extended their lead to 22-12 at halftime. The Lady Coyotes defense was outstanding and the offense solid enough to take early control of the game. The third quarter was similar to the first half and Paris continued to extend their lead. When the buzzer sounded Paris was comfortably ahead 36-22. The Lady Coyote defense dug in during the fourth quarter and impressively held Van-Far scoreless. The Lady Coyotes on the other hand had another double-digit quarter and closed out the game with a 49-22 victory. "We played very well defensively. Offensively we had our moments. I'm proud of the girls' effort and execution." Coach Garrett Thomas

Paris stats: Alyssa Webb 13 points, 7 rebounds 
Reese Sutton 12 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists 
Gretchen Crusha 9 points, 3/3 3 point field goals 
Melanie Moore 8 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals.

On Thursday night, Paris welcomed cross county rival Class 3 Monroe City. Both teams entered the game undefeated and looking forward to the challenge. Monroe City certainly looked like the favorite when the two teams took to the court, but the Lady Coyotes had something to say about that. Paris battled early with smothering defense and timely offense and built a 12-7 first quarter lead. Paris continued to control the game throughout the second quarter and built a double-digit lead late in the quarter. Monroe City closed the deficit late, but Paris led 21-15 at the half. Paris couldn't get much going early in the second half, but found their rhythm late in the third quarter to take a 29-24 lead with under two minutes left in the quarter. Paris missed on a few solid opportunities to build onto their lead late in the quarter and Monroe took advantage early in the fourth quarter. The Lady Panthers took their first lead of the game early in the fourth quarter and unfortunately for the Lady Coyotes never looked back. Paris was held scoreless in the quarter until the final minute of play and Monroe City caught fire, dominating the quarter 18-2 enroute to a 42-31 victory. "We needed this game, we passed our early season tests and needed to face a quality team like Monroe City. We played really well for most of three quarters, but couldn't get anything going in the fourth. We will learn a lot from this game and it will only help us down the stretch of our season and as we prepare for the Monroe City Tournament. I'm proud of the start to the season the girls have put together." Coach Thomas

Paris stats: Reese Sutton 13 points, 4 rebounds 
Melanie Moore 11 points, 3 assists