LAUREL HILL — Bridget Zessin scored 14 points to lead a trio of Laurel Hill School girls basketball players in double figures Saturday as the Hoboes held off Florala, Ala., 44-37 on Saturday.
Grace Reese added 12 points and Cynthia Mason chipped in 10 against a tenacious Wildcat squad.
The win was part of the school’s homecoming festivities.
Laurel Hill-Florala girls basketball photos>>>
“It was a good win for us,” Hobo Coach Scott Varnum said. “You always want to win Homecoming. But we have a lot of growing to do.
“Grace and Bridget did a really good job. Bridget was shooting really well and in the second half they tried to box and zone her (defensively) a little bit. They gave me a few gray hairs there at the end.”
Zessin set the tone of things to come with a 3-point basket 72 seconds into the game. Kendra Avan followed with a 2-point basket for Florala.
Mason followed Avan’s score to extend the Laurel Hill lead to three points.
Florala would never lead in the game, but the Wildcats managed to keep things close thanks to the shooting of Shay Brooks and Morgan Jackson.
Jackson did much of her scoring in the first half. Four of Jackson’s 13 points came late in the first quarter as Florala tie the game a 6-6 at the end of the period.
A 3-point basket by Kaylyn McLaney with 6:51 left in the first half put the Hoboes up for good.
Brooks, who led Florala in scoring with 19 points started to heat up in the second quarter. But the one-two punch of Brooks and Jackson wasn’t enough to help the Wildcats to get over the hurdle and take the lead.
A basket by Brooks early in the second quarter closed the Hobo lead to 11-10.
Kaitlyn Watts answered with a basket for Laurel Hill (3-5)and Florala never got closer than three points the rest of the game.
The Hoboes led 23-16 at the end of the half and 39-28 after the third quarter as they held on for the win.
Email News Bulletin Sports Editor Randy Dickson, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Laurel Hill girls hold off Florala (PHOTOS, VIDEO)