The Dawson County High School junior varsity Lady Tiger basketball team got a taste of  “varsity” action when it traveled to North Murray High School last Friday night.

North Murray opened its doors this season and is playing a modified junior varsity and varsity schedule. The Lady Tigers got a prime time starting time at 7 p.m. in front of a packed gym.

Despite a strong effort, and some questionable calls, the Lady Tigers fell 28-26.

Dawson County was called for 28 fouls, allowing North Murray to shoot 42 free throws, making 20. North Murray was called for only 10 fouls the entire contest.

At halftime, Dawson led by a single field goal, 14-12. The Lady Tigers held a 23-19 lead with 4:43 left in the game, then things went bad.

Dawson managed only 3-points the rest of the contest, while North continually went to the free throw line.

“We dominated from start to finish,” Head Coach Jed Lacey said. “We did a great job of shutting down their three, six foot girls. We out played them, out hustled them and lost the game. The free throw discrepancy really hurt.”

Whitney Glover had a great game from her post position. Glover scored nine points and pulled down 14 rebounds.

“The only word I can use for Whitney is that she is a warrior,” said Lacey.

Morgan Huber and Natalie Parker scored four points each in the loss.

“I was proud of the leadership that Morgan showed during the game. Natalie played with a lot of fire,” said Lacey.

Lady Tiger Kacie Bearden scored five points and hit a big 3-point shot right before halftime. Jade Perry added a big free throw with under a minute to go in the game to give Dawson a shot at the end.

“Gracie Hovan, at point guard, did a great job of controlling the game and keeping everyone involved in the offense and breaking the press. The JV got their first taste of a varsity crowd and they handled it flawlessly,” said Lacey.

The team will play at East Jackson this Friday. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m.