MONTICELLO – The Brookhaven Lady Panthers dominated play in thepaint, to the tune of a 43-29 win over the Lawrence County LadyCougars in the opening round of the Division 6-4A tournament.

In other first round action Tuesday, Jim Hill beat Terry 68-56in girls action. The Lawrence County Cougars barely escaped theSouth Pike Eagles 42-39.

Brookhaven (12-15) meets Jim Hill in a semifinal matchupThursday night, at 7 p.m. Lawrence County finishes its season at4-22.

First round action concludes today with 3 games, beginning at 5p.m., with the South Pike/McComb girls. The McComb and Brookhavenboys tip off around 6:30, followed by Terry/Wingfield boys at8.

Brookhaven 43, Lawrence Co. 29

“It was a tale of two halves,” said Lady Panther head coachBilly Holmes. “We wanted to get the ball inside to our postplayers.”

Brookhaven went to work early in the free throw lane. Freshmenpost players Swayze Black and Nikki Byrd combined for 11first-quarter points, as Holmes’ squad carried a 16-7 lead into thesecond quarter.

Lawrence Co. could not get any offensive rhythm going in thesecond, limited to a field goal by junior Monique Collins. The LadyCougars trailed 27-9 at the intermission.

The Lady Panthers continued with a balanced scoring effort inthe third. Portia Dickey scored 5 of her 9 points in the period, asOle Brook entertained a 42-18 leading entering the final frame.

“Brookhaven did what they had to do, by getting the ballinside,” said LCHS coach Jennie Vance. “We waited too late to getinto gear.”

Lawrence Co. outscored the Lady Panthers 11-1 in the final 8minutes. Senior guard Roneasa Garner scored 8 of her game-high 14points, but was unable to get any closer than 18 points. Garneralso had 2 steals. Senior center Cortoya Barnes had 7 rebounds and7 blocked shots. Jasmine Courtney had 5 rebounds.

“We did not play well in the second half,” said Holmes. “It wasgood to get a win, but we have to play better.”

Byrd paced the Lady Panthers with 11 points and 10 rebounds.Black had 8 rebounds and 2 steals. Portia Dickey had 8 rebounds, 4steals and 4 assists.

Brookhaven outrebounded Lawrence Co. 42-25. The Lady Panthershad 24 turnovers, compared to 20 by the Lady Cougars.

Jim Hill 68, Terry 56

The No. 3-seed Lady Tigers (16-12) were led by Sherrion Thomaswith a game-high 18 points, followed by Brigit Taylor with 12points.

The sixth-seeded Lady Bulldogs got 17 points from Sheena Allen,and 12 from Mickea Hodge. Terry concluded their season at 7-18.