The Pike County Lady Bulldogs season came to an end Tuesday when they fell to the Barbour County Jaguars 50-30 in the opening round of Class 3A Area 4 tournament Monday night.

“We entered a gun fight with a BB gun,” said Bulldogs head coach Todd Reynolds. “When you do that, you try to maximize your effort. We put up a good fight.”

Both teams played a tight game in the first half and went into the locker room at halftime with the Jaguars leading the Bulldogs by 10 points.

“We knew they were going to try and do a lot of outside shooting,” Reynolds said. “We tried to extend our defense to make sure that we at leas contested their shots.”

It worked at least in the opening quarter the Jaguars made only one three-pointer in the game’s first eight minuets.

The turning point for the Bulldogs happened in the third quarter. With the Bulldogs trailing by 10, the Jaguars made a couple shots and in a five-possession window took a 42-21 lead.

“In a five possession you could be down by 10 more points because you’re not maintaining your offense,” Reynolds said. “That’s what happened to us in the third quarter.”

The Bulldogs outscored Barbour County 9-8 in the fourth quarter but that was not enough k.

Barbour County had only one scorer score in double figures with 12 points while the rest of the team failed to have a team score more than seven.

“There wasn’t one major threat that you could stop,” Reynolds said. “They are a very balanced team. I think that is why they are sneaky good. They don’t have just that one knock out threat.”

Shaquavia McKinney led the Bulldogs with 14 points and eight rebounds while Precious Vaznaian finished with 12 points.

The loss brings an end to what was a transitional year for the Lady Bulldogs. The Bulldogs will graduate one senior in McKinney. Everyone else will be back and the hope for coach Reynolds is that the season will be a stepping-stone to more success next season.

“I was under no delusions that this was going to be a great year,” Reynolds said. “I knew that it was going to be a foundation year. Doubling our win total from a year ago with a team half full of eighth-graders that in itself is a step in the right direction.”