Bolivar ladies split a pair of games at home

The Bolivar Central Lady Tigers were one of two at home last week, defeating Fayette Ware 87-65 on Thursday, Jan. 4, before losing to Lexington in overtime, 85-76 on Friday, Jan. 5.
On Thursday, Bolivar got off to a quick start, and led the Lady Wildcats by 15 points after the first quarter. Their lead was cut to 14 points at half time, before improving their lead to 29 points after the third quarter. Fayette Ware was able to make up some lost ground in the final stanza, but it was not enough, as the Lady Tigers  finished the game with a 22 point 87-65 win.
“We struggled a bit in the second half,” Bolivar Head Coach Rick Rudesill said. “Fayette Ware did some good things and gave us some problems in the second half.”
Kenylsha Bryant led the way with 26 points, followed by Hailey Hardaway with 18 points, Quintella Bills with 13 points and Alexius Futrell with 11 points.
On Friday, Bolivar started off strong against Lexington. They led by four points after the first quarter and six points at the break. Lexington began to take control in the second half, and led by two points after the third quarter. Bolivar got those two points back in the final stanza, and the two teams were knotted at 74-74 at the end of regulation. The overtime period was all Lexington, and they walked away with a nine point 85-76 win.
Kenylsha Bryant led the effort with 27 points including three from 3-point range. Hailey Hardaway added 14 points and Quintella Bills added 10 points.
“We tried to match Lexington three for three, and they were going to win that contest every time, but if we had kept penetrating and getting the ball to the basket we could have stayed with them and gotten them into foul trouble,” said Rudesill.
The Bolivar ladies are now 9-12 (3-4 in District 14 AA).
The Bolivar Boys had a much tougher time, falling to Fayette Ware 77-62 on Thursday, then losing to Lexington 81-73 on Friday.
In Tuesday’s game, Bolivar fell behind early, and faced an eight point deficit after the first period that increased to 10 points by halftime. Bolivar got two of those points back in the third quarter. Bolivar got back into the game in the fourth quarter before Fayette Ware turned up the heat in the final two minutes and finished the game with a 15 point 77-62 win.

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