The Paxton Bobcats were the 57-50 winner over the Central Jaguars when they last played one another two weeks ago, but their luck changed this time around. Paxton took a 45-40 hit to the loss column at the hands of Central. It was the first time this season that Paxton let down their fans at home.
Despite the defeat, Paxton had strong showings from Lexie Nagy, who scored nine points along with eight rebounds, and Alyssa Carson, who scored 11 points along with five rebounds.
Central found their leader in underclassman Lakin Mathews, who scored 21 points along with six steals. Those six steals set a new season-high mark for her. Another player making a difference was Autumn Boutwell, who scored 15 points along with four steals.
Paxton's loss ended a five-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 11-3. As for Central, their win bumped their record up to 7-5.
Paxton won't have much time to rest: their next matchup is against Florala at 5:30 p.m. on January 5th. Florala will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in their respective state's rankings (they are ranked 316th in Alabama, while Paxton is ranked 132nd in Florida). As for Central, they will be playing at home against Gulf Breeze at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Gulf Breeze and Central are at an even 5-5 over their past ten head-to-heads.
