Andalusia Middle School played close to Charles Henderson for a quarter, but the Lady Trojans pulled away for the victory.

The Lady Trojans outscored Andalusia 14-1 in the second quarter to build an18-4 halftime lead and never looked back as they won 42-12.

"Our girls team just didn't show up," Andalusia Head Coach Wayne Sasser said.

The Lady Trojans had trouble shooting in the first quarter and led only 4-3 at the end. But the Trojan press broke open the game in the second quarter. Andalusia managed only a single free throw while turning over the ball several times. Charles Henderson took advantage of the turnovers for several easy lay-ups.

"The pressure allowed us to shoot a lot of easy shots," Trojan Head Coach Paul Gilbert said.

The Lady Trojans ran a full-court pressure the entire game, and frustrated Andalusia players. Andalusia had trouble getting opportunities to shoot the ball.

Point guard Bridgette Dix started the onslaught early in the second quarter. She scored on the first possession to put the Lady Trojans up 6-3. She then stole the ball and hit a lay up to put the Trojans up by five. She then stole the inbounds pass and scored again.

Andalusia hit a free throw with 4:23 to play in the half, but the Lady Trojans finished the half on an 8-0 run. Paige Foreman, who led all scorers with 14 points, hit a jump shot and two foul shots to spark the Trojan run.

"She had a lot of rebounds as well," Gilbert said. "She hustles for the ball and is always around it."

Dix and Miracle Bankston each hit free throws and Courtney Hester scored at the end of the half to finish the run.

The second half was more of the same for the Lady Trojans.

They outscored Andalusia 12-6 in the third quarter and 12-2 in the final stanza.

TROJANS

EDGE BULLDOGS

Charles Henderson Middle School appeared to have a comfortable lead against Andalusia, but had to rely on a missed shot to secure the victory.

The Trojans led 28-20 with barely more than a minute left to play, but a series of poor decisions and turnovers nearly cost them the game.

Andalusia's Bryan Peoples missed a potential game-tying basket with 2.7 seconds left and Charles Henderson ran out the clock on the rebound to hold onto a 28-26 lead.

"These boys haven't played basketball before," Trojan Head Coach James Johnson said. "Maybe a little more experienced team would have known how to play at the end better."

The Trojans had trouble converting on many scoring opportunities. Johnson likes to run an up-tempo game, but many times the players had trouble converting on easy baskets.

The only time the Trojans were able to score with ease was in the third quarter.

After trailing at the half 11-10, the Trojans outscored Andalusia 13-6 in the third. Peoples scored to put Andalusia up 13-10, but Charles Henderson answered with nine straight points.

Robert Parker hit a free throw to finish the run and give the Trojans a six-point lead. Charles Henderson led by as much as eight when Courtney Cobb hit a field goal to increase the lead to 28-20.

From there, Andalusia ended the game on a 6-0 run. Deandre Wright hit two free throws to cut the lead to 28-22 and Andalusia scored again to make the game 28-24.

Peoples stepped up big for Andalusia, sinking two free throws with just 3.9 seconds left to cut the Trojan lead to 28-26.

Then, the Trojans turned the ball over with 2.7 seconds left. The inbounds pass went to a wide-open Peoples, but his shot rolled in and out of the basket.

The final seconds ticked off the clock, but not after about 10 seconds. The scoreboard operator forgot to start the clock when Peoples caught the ball, so Charles Henderson had time to run the ball down the court and get fouled. The officials realized what happened, though, and ended the game.

"We had our chances," Andalusia Head Coach Wayne Sasser said. "We didn't win, but we had our chances."