The Copper Basin Lady Cougars and Cougars’ basketball teams faced off with their counterparts from Gilmer and had tough outings against them in the opening day of the 7th annual ETC Tipoff Tournament, as the Lady Cougars lost 76-26 to a very talented Lady Cats’ squad and the Cougars fought hard but fell to the Bobcats 69-51.The first of the two matchups between Copper Basin and Gilmer saw the girls take the court in a game that unfortunately turned ugly fairly quickly for Copper Basin. Points were hard to come by in the first half for the Lady Cougars, and when the buzzer sounded to signal halftime they found themselves in a deep 41-14 hold.

Copper Basin continued to work for more points in the second half of the contest, but a strong effort by the Lady Cats minimized the importance of the points they did put up. When it was all said and done the Lady Cougars fell by the final score of 76-26.

Lindsey Brackett led the Lady Cougars in scoring with twelve points in the loss. Caitlyn Hyatt ended the contest with a team-high five rebounds. Three Lady Cougars—Brackett, Tristan Hedden, and Cassie Hyatt—finished the game with five points or more.

The Cougars then hit the court with a chance to show those in attendance how talented their team promises to be this year, and they did not disappoint outside of a slow start in the first quarter that saw the team fall behind by fifteen points.

The Cougars kept pace with Gilmer through the remaining three quarters, being outscored by just five points, but it was not enough to beat the Bobcats on this night. Gilmer ultimately won the game by the final score of 69-51.

Dylan Boggs led the Cougars in scoring and rebounding with twenty points and seven rebounds, respectively. Falling close behind Boggs was William Taylor, who had seven points and one rebound, and Stephen Spargo, who had six points and six rebounds in the loss.

Next up for Copper Basin is a pair of matchups with Pickens in the second day of the ETC Tipoff Tournament on Monday. The Lady Cougars and the Dragonettes are set to square off at 3:00 with the Cougars and Dragons playing at the conclusion of the girls’ game.