|
|
In other tournament action, the Natchez Lady Bulldogs slipped past the McComb Lady Tigers 54-52. The McComb Tigers flew past the Natchez Bulldogs 68-51.
Tournament play concludes Saturday with a quadruple header beginning at 4 p.m. with the Lawrence County-Natchez girls, followed by the Lawrence County-Natchez boys at 5:30. Brookhaven and McComb meet in a non-region affair at 7 and 8:30.
Lawrence Co. 58, Brookhaven 45
The Lady Cougars (6-0) keep their early season success alive with a solid defensive aggressiveness and a dose of the Griffin twins. LCHS took a 14-10 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Lady Panthers (3-2) went on a cold shooting spree that would remind throughout the rest of the game. Brookhaven, which never led in the game, got within 1 point (17-16) on a basket by senior Maleysia Burnett. A 9-0 run scoring spurt by LCHS saw Ole Brook trailing 26-16 at the half.
"It was a hard-fought game," said LCHS head coach Vicki Rutland. "We made some adjustments at halftime, and it helped us down the stretch."
Brookhaven cut their halftime deficit in half, at 26-21 on a 3-point basket by senior guard Kearra Collins. An 18-1 LCHS run to close out the third, as the Lady Panthers entered the fourth down 44-22.
"We did not play well tonight," said Brookhaven head coach Freda Craft. "We did not shoot well, nor did we come ready to play."
For the Lady Cougars, Tiaria Griffin led all scorers with 23 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists. Kahatara Taylor had 10 points and 7 rebounds. Alli Harris had 8 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 assists.
Collins paced Brookhaven with 21 points, while Desiree Benson had 10 points and 3 steals. Burnett had 6 rebounds and 2 steals.
Brookhaven 82, Lawrence Co. 54
The opening 8 minutes was a juggling contest between both teams, as each squad fought for loose balls, matched each other's turnovers and missed shots. There were 3 deadlocks and 3 lead changes, as the Panthers took a 12-10 lead into the second quarter.
LCHS (3-3) led 22-19 halfway through the period, on a pair of free throws by J.J. Evans. Cougar head coach Pat Bridges saw his team on the wrong end of a 13-0 run to end the first half; trailing 32-22.
"We started the game good," said Coach Bridges whose team saw a double-digit deficit during the entire second half. "Then we lacked intensity on the defense end. We didn't block out."
The Panthers (4-0) outscored LCHS 50-32 in the second half. Despite 22 turnovers and early shooting woes, Ole Brook was able to top the 50 percent mark for the fourth consecutive game. A balanced team effort seems to have been the theme for Brookhaven head coach Preston Wilson's squad.
"We played well in spots," said Wilson in his second tour of duties (7 years overall) at BHS. "We continue to shoot the ball well."
Leading the Panther charge was reserve guard Ross Hill with 15 points. Center Fred Fairman tossed in 12 points, while Leo Garrett added 11 points. Senior forward Fabian Gibson had 10 points, 9 rebounds and 2 assists. Rajavion Stewart had 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Keith Johnson had 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 5 steals.
For LCHS, Dekembe Collins pumped in a game-high 18 points and 4 rebounds. Jaydrian Clark dished out 8 assists and had 3 steals. David Haynes had 5 steals.
The Cougars were outrebounded 41-21 and committed 19 turnovers. LCHS shot 42 percent from the field at a 22 of 52 clip and 71 percent (5 of 7) from the charity stripe.
Natchez 54, McComb 52
The Lady Bulldogs (2-3) got 20 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals and 3 assists from Anastasia Hutchins. Natchez, coached by Sue Johnson, was ranked No. 7 in the pre-season rankings.
The Lady Tigers (1-5) were led by Shanekqua Bibbs with 20 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 steals. Keaira Patterson tossed 13 points, grabbed 6 rebounds and had 2 steals for McComb head coach Angela Johnson.
McComb 68, Natchez 51
The Tigers (4-1) were lead by Daven Gooden with 22 points. Dandy Dozen junior guard Ladarius White had 18 points, 9 rebounds, 3 steals and 3 assists, while Tradarrius Holloway tossed 11 points for head coach Hilton Harrell.
