PULASKI – The Community Viqueens battled with foul trouble throughout the game, but couldn’t hold on to leads in the fourth quarter and overtime as the Giles County Lady Bobcats defeated the Viqueens 41-36 in a District 12-AA basketball game Friday night.

The Lady Bobcats found themselves at the foul line early and often in the opening half as the Viqueens picked up their seventh foul with 2:03 left in the first quarter. The Viqueens stayed close with the help of five points from Breanna Whitaker and ended the quarter tied with Giles County at 7-7.

Community (9-13, 1-3 D12AA) struggled to find points in the second quarter. Whitaker scored all four points as the Viqueens went scoreless for the final five minutes of the quarter. Meanwhile, the Lady Bobcats ended the half with 16 free throw attempts, but could only connect on five as the Viqueens stayed close. A Giles County three-pointer at the buzzer gave the Lady Bobcats a 14-11 halftime lead.

The inside game opened up for the Viqueens in the third quarter as the lead changed hands six times. M. J. Simmons scored seven points for Community, but another trey at the buzzer by the Lady Bobcats gave Giles County a 24-23 advantage heading to the final quarter.

After taking a 31-30 lead on a basket by Simmons with 2:55 left, the Viqueens used their defense to maintain their lead until the final seconds. Community created two Lady Bobcat turnovers and had possession and a 32-30 lead with four seconds left, but a Viqueen turnover and foul gave Giles County hope. The Lady Bobcats connected on two foul shots with three seconds left to force overtime.

The Viqueens led twice in the overtime and had possession after the Lady Bobcats tied the game at 36-36, but a missed field goal attempt with 30 seconds left gave the ball to the Lady Bobcats. With eight seconds left, Community was charged with a blocking foul, giving the Lady Bobcats two free throws, Giles County hit one of the foul shots and connected on four more free throws to close out the win.

Whitaker had 16 points to lead the Viqueens while Simmons added 11.

Teondra Williams led the Lady Bobcats with 13 points.

Giles County finished 15-of-30 at the free throw line, but only missed one foul shot in the fourth quarter and overtime. The Viqueens were 4-of-7 at the line.

“We played with a lot of heart and a lot of passion tonight, but at the end of the day, we just needed one more play and we couldn’t find a way to get it,” Coach Cody Pierce of the Viqueens said.

Community travels to Central Magnet for a D12-AA game Tuesday at 6 p.m.

Community 7 4 12 9 4 - 36

Giles Co. 7 7 10 8 9 - 41

Community: Breanna Whitaker 16, M. J. Simmons 11, Jesa Moore 6, Shelby Cawthon 2, Brianna Beech 1, Addison Brothers, Payton Davis, Aleah Wilson, Zoey Dixon.

Giles County: Teondra Williams 13, Bri Brown 11, Hanna Hill 9, Ari Howard 8, Angel Howard, Carrie Johnson, Amanda Britton, Kataiah Dudley.

3-Point goals: Community (2): Whitaker 2; Giles Co. (2): Brown 2.

Halftime score: Giles Co. 14, Community 11.