With a 3-1 area record and 4-10 overall, the Luverne Lady Tigers came out to win Friday night, preventing Elba from ever having a lead the entire game.

Coach Kevin Hancock's young team, which is made of mostly ninth and tenth-graders, ended the first quarter up 7-4 and upped that lead to 18-14 by halftime.

At the end of the third quarter, it was Luverne 32-26.

During the fourth quarter, guard Jaleesa Franklin started the Lady Tigers off with two free throws and a layup to lead the team 36-30 over Elba with 5:17 left in the game. Kimberly Sanders added two more points, while guard Sharicka Brantley chipped in a nice bank shot to pull out a 40-34 lead with 2:55 left on the clock.

However, Elba began racking up the points and was soon only down by two points, 41-39, with 1:41 left to play, but that was quickly changed to a 41-41 tie with only 13 seconds left on the clock.

Elba's coach called an illegal time-out and received a technical foul. Sharicka Brantley hit two free throws for the Lady Tigers, making it 43-41. Another free throw by Jaleesa Franklin and one more from Brantley sealed Elba's fate with 11 seconds left in the game. Then, Mallory McDougald stole the ball from Elba to secure the win.

Sharicka Brantley had 11 points for the game, Kimberly Sanders chipped in 10 points, and Jaleesa Franklin was the high scorer with 16 points. Coach Hancock said that Mallory McDougald had a great game with 17 rebounds and making sure the ball got out for the fast break.