Erik Spencer Hill | The Stokes News

Lady Card defenders battle to take the ball away from Saura Kelli Mounce on Friday night.

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Friday was a tough night for the Sauras varsity teams at South Stokes High School. Each team was handed a loss at the hands of East Surry’s Cardinals. The Lady Sauras lost 51-32 and the varsity boys team lost 50-49.

The Cards came out strong against the Sauras in the first quarter of Friday night’s game. The team quickly grabbed the lead and went up 14-11 by the end of the first.

In the second quarter, Saura Brandon Smith had back-to-back plays that evened the score. Smith had a fast break layup and then followed it up with a 3-pointer, which brought the score to 18-18.

With some strong rebounding, the Sauras grabbed a 28-23 lead in the final four minutes before halftime.

The Cards played better defense in the third quarter. The Sauras posted up 10 points in the quarter and pushed ahead 38-29.

The final quarter was a thriller for Saura and Card fans combined. At the beginning of the quarter, the Sauras were up by nine points. But the Cards started to attack the basket and narrowed their deficit.

After a big trey from Card Scott Meredith with minutes to go in the quarter the score was 46-44. With 25 seconds left on the clock Saura Smith took to the free-throw line. He sank a free as Saura fans stood and cheered wildly. The score was 49-47, Sauras lead.

But, in the final seconds East Surry hit a 3-pointer, which allowed them to sneak ahead by a nose 50-49 and take home the win for the evening.

After the game, there was a hush over the Sauras locker room. Coach Jason Clark told his players he knew the loss “hurts.” But, even losses can be used as a “tool” to learn from, he said.

“It puts you in a spot where you got to fight,” he said. “You can let it beat you down, or you can get back up and fight.”

The Sauras are now 6-5 in the conference.

Girls

The Lady Sauras struggled to find their footing in the first half of the game and missed several easy shots, while the Cards moved ahead 27-9.

By the third quarter, the Cards were in control of the game with an 18-point lead. Lady Card Keri Fulp continued to drive into the semicircle for layups. At the end of the quarter the Cards were up 42-19.

Lady Saura Kelli Mounce floated a ball into the basket at the beginning of the fourth quarter, but the Sauras still lagged behind. Michala Purdue drained a 3-pointer from behind the arc, which brought the score to 47-24.

The Lady Sauras’ bolstered defense kept the Cards to only eight points in the quarter, but the team flew away with the win in the end.

Lady Sauras Coach Mitch Adams was disappointed with his team’s performance.

“We just didn’t play with any intensity,” he said. “It’s like we didn’t want to be out there in the first half.”

The Lady Sauras move to 4-7 in the conference after the team’s loss to the Cards.