Varnado lost another close game Monday, falling to Jewel-Sumner, 71-68, at Sumner.

Despite their 1-9 record Varnado has been competitive in most of their games this season.

“We stay close, but we just can’t seem to pull it out in the end,” said Varnado coach Lubertha Peters. “Our girls have done pretty well despite having three of our starters out with injuries. If we can get them back before district play starts we should be ready to compete.”

This game came down to free throws, and Varnado came out on the short end. The Kittens hit on only 19-of-34 shots (56 percent) for the game.

Carrayln Moses continues to be the scoring leader for the Kittens, averaging 20 points a game. On Monday she scored 40 points and hit four three-point shots. Tikandra Lewis added 12 points on the night.

Peters summed it up saying, “We need to play better defense and have better knowledge of where we are on the court.”

Varnado returns to action Saturday night when it hosts Dexter.