CROTHERSVILLE

South Central’s girls rallied to outscore Crothersville 10-2 over the final five minutes of the fourth period to rally for a 50-45 win in a Southern Athletic Conference game Saturday afternoon.

The Tigers held a 43-40 lead following a basket by Katrina Christian with 5:14 remaining.

South Central went on a 7-0 run with Lexie Knear’s 3-point basket putting her team on top 47-43 with four minutes remaining.

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Christian scored for the Tigers with 3:20 remaining, but the Tigers missed their final four shots down the stretch.

The score remained 47-45 until Ally Davis made one free throws with 4.3 seconds remaining to boost the difference to 48-45.

She missed the second, but the Rebels secured the rebound, and Tigers coach Kevin Hensley said that was a key play in the outcome.

“They left the door open, but when they got that rebound that closed the door,” he said as the Tigers saw their eight-game win streak come to an end.

Christian scored all six of Crothersville’s points in the fourth quarter, but her teammates shot 0-for-4 from the floor.

A big factor in the game was free throws as the Rebels made 10 of 14 while the Tigers were 0-for-5.

Both teams finished with 19 field goals with the Tigers making seven 3s, and the Rebels made two from beyond the arc.

“I told them in the locker room before the game that the game was going to come down to rebounds and defense,” Hensley said.

South Central finished with a 33-23 advantage in rebounds.

The Rebels opened the game with a zone defense, but the Tigers were unable to make their perimeter shots in the opening period, shooting 0-for-6 on 3-pointers and 3-for-14 overall.

The Rebels also started slow offensively, shooting 4-for-13 from the floor, and held an 8-6 lead at the end of the first period.

Kashmir Kelshaw made three 3-pointers, and Piper Hensley hit two from long range in the second period when the Tigers outscored the Rebels 17-14 to hold a 23-22 lead at the half.

The teams traded points in the third period with the Tigers holding a 16-14 advantage to take a 39-36 lead into the fourth period. Maddie Riley topped the Tigers in the third period with seven points.

In the third period, Central went to a box-and-chaser defense, playing Christian man-to-man, and Coach Hensley said his players didn’t respond as well as he had hoped.

“It was kind of ‘what do I do now.’ They kind of lost their heads a little bit,” he said.

Hensley said not having Lacey Hall (out with an injury suffered at South Decatur) hurt his teams’ depth.

Christian topped the Tigers with 18 points and Kelshaw scored 12.

Jordan Renn had 16 points and 10 rebounds to lead Central.

The Tigers, who slipped to 1-1 in the SAC and 8-2 overall, will host Medora Tuesday night.