The Loyd Star Lady Hornets (13-12) went on the road Monday night and absolutely whipped the Region 8 No. 2 seed St. Patrick Lady Irish 46-29 on their home court.

After badly beating the No. 1 team from the same region — North Forrest — earlier in the regular season, the Lady Hornets came into the matchup with St. Patrick with confidence.

Loyd Star led 14-3 after the first quarter and 24-9 at halftime.

“We came out in the first quarter and set the tone,” said Lady Hornet head coach Christi Terrell. “The girls hustled and played hard. Defensively we applied pressure and were able to get steals for easy shots.”

Junior guard Carly Beth Wallace scored 14 points to lead the LS offense and junior forward Taylor Smith added 10 points. Senior Christie Rose Patterson scored seven points and senior center Sarah Britt scored six points. Freshman point guard Aubrey Britt added four points. Tamaria Townsend added three points and Emma Falvey added two points.

The Lady Hornets owned the backboards with Taylor Smith grabbing a team high 11 boards. Sarah Britt and Aubrey Britt each snatched nine rebounds apiece. Wallace made a team high seven steals and Patterson dished out a team high four assists.

Next up for the Lady Hornets is a trip to Rankin County on Friday for a matchup with the Puckett Lady Wolves (27-3). The Lady Wolves have won 14 in a row and beat West Lincoln 69-47 in Flea Hop on Nov. 27.