The Brookhaven Academy Lady Cougars used their smothering defense to slowdown the inside attack of the Adams County Christian School Lady Rebels en-route to a 41-39 victory in a crucial District 5AA matchup.

In boys action, the ACCS Rebels escape John R. Gray Gymnasium with a 43-40 win over the Cougars.

The Cougars and Lady Cougars are back in action again next Tuesday when Central Hinds travels to BA for six games. Seventh grade action will tip off at 3 p.m.

The Lady Cougars (14-10) raised their district record to 5-1 as the team looks toward tournament seeding in the up coming weeks.

BA head coach Mack Gardner commented after the game, “This was a great win against a solid team. Our execution, both offensively and defensively was as good as it has been all year.”

Gardner continued, “We have to continue to strive toward finishing a complete game by doing all the little things well.” He concluded, “I have to recognize our student section tonight. They brought a lot of energy and we need them to come out in force again next Tuesday against Central Hinds.”

Senior guard Madison Warren led the Lady Cougar attack with 13 points. Lindsey Winborne added 10 and Hillary Wilson chipped in 7 toward the BA total. Tory Laird paced the Lady Rebels in scoring with 10 points.

The Cougars (17-6, 5-1) suffered their second straight loss Tuesday night as the Rebels handed BA their first loss in District 5-AA action.

BA came out strong in the first quarter to take a 16-9 lead before ACCS fought back and outscored the Cougars 23-11 in the second and third quarter to lead 32-27 after three quarters of action.

In the fourth quarter, the Cougars battled back and made several attempts to take the game over but the Rebels managed to fight off BA’s rallies to secure the win.

Senior Zac Smith was the offensive leader for BA with 11 points. Joshua Wiggins contributed a double-double performance with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Lester Wells was the top scorer for the Rebels with 14 points and 9 rebounds. Trey Fleming chipped in with 13 points.