Both Lady Cats and Wildcats fall to Poplar

On Saturday, the Harlem Lady Cats and Wildcats welcomed the Poplar Indians to town in a district 2B match that could carry some weight come the postseason. For the girls game the first period saw six players score for the Lady Cats, tallying 11 points, while the Indians dropped 22 to take a 22-11 first quarter lead. In the second quarter, Junior Aaraya Mount knocked down a triple and freshman Maddy Mount hit two for two from the free-throw line, but Harlem only saw their deficit grow, trailing 34-20 at the break. Senior Emma Billmayer came out firing in the third quarter, scoring six points, while junior Gracie Sanchez added two more, as did Aaraya Mount and Maddy Mount. Down the stretch, the Indians scored nine points and the Lady Cats mustered 11 making the final score 65-42. Leading the way for the Lady Cats was Maddy Mount with 12 points, while Billmayer contributed 8.

To start the boys off, sophomore Matt Billmayer knocked down a trifecta and scored five points, as did senior Tommy Champagne. Senior Moses Lawrence added three, providing 15 points for the Wildcats total in the first quarter. The problem being the Indian offense scored 22. In the second quarter, the Wildcats scored four points from Sophomore Cody McCabe and four points from Senior Lance Morgan but were unable to shorten the gap, scoring just 12 points before the half to trail 34-27 at the break. Coming out in the third quarter, the Wildcats were much more efficient offensively, hitting a triple from Junior Diondre Firstraised and seven points from McCabe as well as five points from Senior Erik Snell. Scoring 20 points in the frame only to see Poplar score 20 as well, the Indians took a 54-49 lead into the final period. Harlem’s offense couldn’t manage much down the stretch while facing a heavy Indian push. Bilmayer scored six in the fourth quarter while Champagne had a triple as the Wildcats tallied 15 down the stretch while the Indians scored 26 to earn an 80-64 win over the Wildcats. Harlem was lead on the night by McCabe with 11 points, followed by Bilmayer with 11 and Firstraised contributing ten.

On February 2nd, the Wildcats will host the Fairview Warriors as they prep for the final weeks of the regular season.