Fans at Thursday's non-league challenge between the St. Mary's Academy Belles (Inglewood, CA) and the host Hawthorne Cougars (Hawthorne, CA), saw St. Mary's Academy's basketball squad hold off Hawthorne by a count of 57-53.

With the victory, St. Mary's Academy upgrades its record to 8-5 on the campaign. The Belles travel to Spanish Springs (Sparks, NV) to play the Cougars in a non-league challenge on Tuesday, December 27. The Cougars come into the challenge with a record of 4-6. Spanish Springs lost 55-47 in their recent non-league challenge against Lassen (Susanville, CA)

The Cougars (7-3) will now prepare for their battle against Torres (Los Angeles, CA). The Toros come into the non-league battle with a 1-10 record. In their last battle, Torres was nudged by Bishop Conaty-Loretto (Los Angeles, CA), 57-7, in a non-league battle.