Loyd Star guard Shannon Chester recorded a double-double of 26points and 11 rebounds, to lead the host Lady Hornets to a 71-69Division 6-2A win over the Amite County Lady Trojans Tuesday night.Chester, who had 18 points in the first half, also made 3 stealsand had 3 assists.

In the varsity boys game, fouls took their toll on the Hornetswho dropped a 69-53 decision to the Trojans. Amite County netted 18of 35 free throws while Loyd Star was 5 of 12.

Loyd Star travels to Piney Woods Friday for more divisionaction.

Loyd Star 71, Amite Co. 69

Contributing to the Loyd Star girls win with 21 points, 9rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal was Dakota Brooks. She netted 14points in the second half.

Loyd Star (17-7, 6-3) came out to take an 18-10 lead over AmiteCounty (8-13) in the first quarter. The Lady Hornets pushed theirlead to 12 points, 26-14, at the 5:01 mark before the Lady Trojansbegin to chip away at the lead. At halftime, Loyd Star led32-27.

In the third quarter, the Lady Hornets went up by 13 points,40-27, with 5:31 left on a 3-point play by Brooks. At the 1:55mark, Amite County had taken a 1-point, 45-44, lead for the firsttime in the game.

Haley Sones, who is recovering from a shoulder injury, came intothe game in the final seconds of the third quarter to score thetying bucket and tie the score at 49-all going into the finalframe.

Fourth-quarter action saw Loyd Star and Amite County battle downto the wire. In the final 1:12 of the game, Loyd Star led AmiteCounty 66-63. Chester went 3 for 6 and Sones was 2 for 4 from thefree-throw line to secure the 3-point win for the hosts.

“We relaxed when we got ahead,” said Loyd Star girls coach JanDelaughter after the win. “Amite County never quit.”

The Lady Hornets were 24 of 39 from the charity line while theLady Trojans were 11 of 21.

Amite County got 25 points from Brittany Patterson. RamekiaBailey netted 12 points, followed by LaShanda Anderson and TinitraBanks with 11 points apiece.

Amite County 69, Loyd Star 53

Loyd Star (15-9, 5-4) fell behind early and had to play catchup. Amite County led 10-4 in the first quarter and held a 22-16lead at halftime.

In the third quarter, the Trojans enjoyed a 15-point, 33-18,lead with 3:21 left when the Hornets began to cut away at thedeficit. Going into the fourth quarter, Amite County led Loyd Starby 8 points, 39-31.

With 5:10 remaining in the game, Loyd Star made its move. Abucket by Matthew Henderson and a putback by McKinley Hamilton cutAmite County’s lead to 1-point, 45-44. A free throw by Tre’MonteWilliams and back-to-back field goals from Deron Bass gave theTrojans a 6-point, 60-44, cushion with 3:43 remaining.

“Amite County has some good athletes,” said Loyd Star boys coachGene Britt. “Our inside people didn’t show up tonight. We couldn’tshoot the ball well from the outside.”

Henderson sparked the Hornets with 12 points, 6 rebounds, 3steals and 2 assists. Rickey Barnes netted 9 points and grabbed 5rebounds. Tops off the backboards with 10 rebounds was Ron Jones.Randy Fells pulled down 7 rebounds.

Amite County got a game-high 28 points from speedster AntonieWilkinson. Stephen Patterson finished with 10 points.

Junior varsity action

The Amite County boys held off Loyd Star for a 54-45 win.

Joseph Shelby led Loyd Star with 12 points. Scoring 10 pointswas Julius Whittaker.

Amite County got 12 points from Robert Williams. B.J. Jacksonnetted 10.