George Rogers Clark’s boys and girls basketball teams traveled to Paris to play in their first district doubleheader of the season.

The girls team entered the game with a 28-game winning streak against Paris but were taking on a different Lady Hounds team than they had faced before. The Lady Cards were also without star player Kennedy Igo.

The Lady Cards scored the game’s first points but had trouble holding onto the ball and fell behind shortly after.

Trailing 16-9 entering the second quarter, GRC’s Brianna Byars found a rhythm to put the Cards back in front 25-23 at halftime.

The turnovers came back at the beginning of the second half, putting Paris back in front 35-32 at the end of the third quarter.

Clark County once again battled back to get back in it, cutting the deficit to 42-40 after Ciara Byars hit a long two with under two minutes to play.

Ciara’s sister, Brianna, then blocked a shot at the other end to give the Cards a chance to tie or take the lead.

A Paris foul sent GRC to the free-throw line with less than a minute remaining. They would split the shots, cutting it to a one-point game.

Their defense forced a turnover and gave them a shot to win with 20 seconds left on the clock.

An offensive foul on the Cards’ next possession gave it back to Paris with less than 10 seconds to play.

Trailing 42-41, the Lady Cards had to foul. They sent Paris to the free-throw line with four seconds to play. The Hounds missed both, giving GRC one last shot to win the game. But the buzzer-beater didn’t fall, sealing the 42-41 loss.

It was the Lady Cards’ first loss to the Lady Hounds since 2008 and their first under head coach Robbie Graham.

Following the heart-breaking girls’ game, the boys followed looking to avenge their classmates’ loss.

Like their first matchup, Paris hung with the Cards early. The game was tied at the end of the first quarter at 16-16.

A 6-0 run to start the second quarter gave the Cards a lead they wouldn’t look back from.

They would extend that run to 16-2 before giving up five of the final seven points of the quarter, taking a 34-23 lead into halftime.

“We made adjustments, we became more focused and we became more coachable,” GRC head coach Josh Cook said. “Shots weren’t really going early so we had to make some adjustments to get some easier shots and defensively our guys did a good job adjusting to put the game where it needed to be.”

The Cardinals would continue to pull away in the second half, outscoring Paris 31-24 after the break to come away with a 65-47 victory to sweep the regular season series with Paris.

“It feels good,” Cook said. “I’m excited because they’re getting better. The first time we played them it might’ve been a little bit of fool’s gold. They’re tough on their home court and they’re getting better. We weren’t as hot tonight, but our guys played smart and made adjustments. The second and third quarter were really good for us.”

The Lady Cardinals will be back in action Monday when they host Montgomery County in another district rivalry game. The boys will play again Saturday when they host Harrison County.