Coach Freda Craft’s Brookhaven Lady Panthers battled through a tough defensive contest to escape with a 26-17 win over the West Lincoln Lady Bears in basketball action Friday night in Jack Case Gymnasium.

Brookhaven will have a few days off to enjoy their Christmas break before returning to action Friday to participate in McComb’s Holiday Tournament. The Panthers and Lady Panthers battle North Pike Friday starting at noon for the girls’ games and 1:30 for the boys’ action.

West Lincoln will also enjoy a long break for the holidays before resuming action Thursday, Jan. 2, in Dexter’s Holiday tournament against Salem. The girls tip off at 3 p.m., followed by the boys.

Brookhaven 26, W. Lincoln 17 

The Lady Panthers and Lady Bears fought in a slow pace contest as both teams struggled to their offense going in the first quarter as Brookhaven led 4-0.

In the second quarter, the Lady Panthers (7-5) managed to generate a spark offensively to carry a 14-4 advantage into halftime.

In the second half, the Lady Bears (1-11) charged back and outscored Brookhaven 6-2 in the third quarter as a the Lady Panthers held a 16-10 lead.

In the fourth quarter, Ole Brook was able to defend off West Lincoln’s attack with a 10-7 run to secure the win.

Junior forward Chantel Quarles was the offensive leader for the Lady Panthers with nine points. Kynitria Hill paced BHS on the boards with five rebounds. Fredricka Fairman helped defensively with five steals and chipped in four points.

“We started to celebrate Christmas too early,” said Craft. “We knew coming in West Lincoln has a very patient team and they will slow the game down in their favor. Overall, I was pleased with my girls effort to keep fighting through this tough defensive game to collect the win.”

Senior forward Heather Moak was the top scorer for the Lady Bears with eight points. Destiny Allen led West Lincoln on the boards with five rebounds.

“We wanted to slow things down to give us a shot to win the game,” said West Lincoln coach Lane Young. “The girls played hard, but we struggled to score and turnovers killed us.”