Coach Larry Holmes liked what he saw Monday night in SinclairGymnasium. His Lady Panthers handled McComb’s defensive pressureand produced a balanced offensive effort to beat McComb’s LadyTigers 56-51.

Directing the triumph was junior forward Kristiana McCray with17 points and 9 rebounds. Playmaker Aneidra Stanton followed with15 points, making 10 of 15 free throws. Center Anna Autman, a 5-11junior, added 10 points and 8 rebounds.

Brookhaven resumes play Dec. 6, hosting Lawrence County.

“We handled McComb’s 2-1-2 trap press real well,” said Holmes.”We did what we wanted to with it. We ran our fastbreak prettygood.”

Autman provided some strong support when starting center AyanaTillman encountered early foul trouble. Autman had 3 rebounds inthe final 3 minutes as Brookhaven turned back McComb.

“Anna has come on strong for us,” said Holmes. “Ayana got someearly foul trouble. Kristiana did a good job for us, too.”

The Lady Panthers (6-3) roared to a 30-19 halftime lead,consistently beating McComb down the floor. They took a 23-11advantage in the second quarter when the 5-11 McCray sacked a12-footer. They led 42-33 starting the fourth quarter.

A driving layup by McComb guard Samantha Felder reducedBrookhaven’s lead to 48-35 with 5:49 left in the game. Felderfinished with 14 points.

McComb (10-3), coached by Carolyn Whitehead, got 11 points fromClarissa Thompson and 10 from Stacey Morris and Jasmine Patterson.The Tigers sacked 6 treys in the game, led by southpaw Patterson’strio.