CARY - The Panther Creek and Cary Christian girls basketball teams both entered this year's eight-team field of the MIX 101.5 bracket of the Holiday Invitational hoping the tough competition within the bracket would serve as good preparation for the second half of the season.

Both teams got what they wanted - even if it came with fewer wins than either would have liked.

Cary Christian wrapped up its play with a 0-3 record, falling in Wednesday's seventh-place game 62-49 to Bunn. The Lady Knights also fell, 54-42, to Green Hope and 80-61 to Durham Hillside.

Panther Creek went 1-2, losing to Durham Hillside 62-49 on Wednesday in the fifth-place game. The Catamounts lost their opener 37-33 to Durham Riverside but came back to defeat Bunn 52-36.

"We played till the end," said Panther Creek coach Geoff Bowman. "We battled and battled, but there is a breaking point. We only had seven varsity members with us in this tournament, so I think the girls did the best they could out there."

Panther Creek senior guard Kayla Seymour was selected to the all-tournament team after scoring 50 points in three days.

Panther Creek (10-4) struggled against Riverside but found its offensive rhythm again against Bunn. Against Hillside, Panther Creek was down just three at halftime before the Hornets were able to wear down the Lady Cats.

The tournament wasn't quite as positive for the Lady Knights (5-4), who - like last year - managed to put some fear into much larger public-school opponents before falling short.

Unlike last year, however, Cary Christian couldn't salvage a win in the seventh-place game. Turnovers and problems against full-court pressure were a common denominator in their losses.

The Knights averaged more than 20 turnovers per game, including 34 against Green Hope in a game that was close at half and, at times, got chippy between the two Cary schools.

"We were horrible on turnovers," said Cary Christian coach Shelly Holmes. "We just need to know that every time we have it in our hands, it's gold and we need to take care of it as long as we have it."

Cary Christian's Dakota Dukes was named to the all-tournament team after averaging 19.7 points and 11 rebounds in three games.