In a gymnasium, where even standing room was hard to find, Logan County and Russellville renewed a rivalry on the courts.

The 'Clash of the Cats' series has been a little bit one sided this year as Logan County has taken victories in volleyball and football earlier this year and Russellville was chomping at the bit to tally a victory.

It wasn't meant to be as Logan County swept the night with the Lady Cougars defeating the Lady Panthers 52-30 and the Cougars capping off the night with a 76-70 victory over their cross town rival Panthers.

To open up the night was the Lady Cougars taking on the Lady Panthers in what promised to be an exciting match up in their own right.

The Lady Panthers were coming off a loss against University Heights and eager to rebound against the Lady Cougars. They opened up the game with the first basket. But in the first quarter outside that first basket, the Logan County's trademark defense took over. They went the rest of the first quarter only allowing one more point and took a 12-3 lead into the second quarter.

In the second quarter the Lady Panthers sped the tempo up and started getting those open looks. They would go on a 9-0 run to close the gap to 18-15. The Lady Cougars were struggling on offense and couldn't pull away.

But their defense is what they hang their hat on

And in the second half the Lady Panthers found out just how tough that defense was. In the second half of the game the Lady Panthers and their offense was held to only 12 points in the last two quarters. The Lady Cougars offense still struggled, but when they held the Lady Panthers to 20 points below their average they didn't need to rely on their offense as they held on for the 52-30 victory.

With the win the Lady Cougars move to 2-0 in district while with the loss the Lady Panthers are left scrabbling for answers as they are now 0-2 in districts.

To cap off the night the Cougars squared off against the Panthers in a pivotal district match up. Not only was Logan County playing to be 3-0 in districts, but was also playing to snap a losing streak that had started way back in 2003. The Panthers were trying to show that they might have lost a lot from last year's squad, but they were still the class of District 13.

Tonight the Cougars made a huge statement to the rest of their district that they will have the last say on who hoists the title with the 76-70 victory.

In the first quarter, both the Cougars and Panthers ran up and down the court in what resembled more a track meet than a basketball game. In a blisteringly fast first quarter the Cougars held a 17-16 lead.

In the second quarter the Panthers and Cougars provided more excitement as they pushed each other to their limits. Both teams clashed like two heavy weight boxers. One team would hammer the other with a 7-1 run, then the next would go on a 5-0 run. But at the end of the second round the Panthers held a 32-38 lead.

In the third quarter the Cougars started to exert their control.

Questions of their intensity or their heart got quickly answered midway through the third.

After an extremely entertaining third quarter there was no doubts in anybodies' mind, much less the media's mind that the Cougars lacked heart.

The Cougars held a 51-44 lead and the Panthers were in trouble.

A 10-2 run in the fourth quarter and the Cougars were in the clear. With the 76-70 victory the Cougars hold a commanding lead in districts sitting at 3-0.

The Lady Cougars will host Warren East tomorrow at 7 p.m. The Lady Panthers will resume play at Warren Central tomorrow night at 7 p.m.

The Panthers will lick their wounds and host Greenwood on Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. The Cougars will celebrate the momentous victory before they host Butler County on Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m.

Look for more in depth coverage and more photos in Tuesday's News-Democrat&Leader.