RAYMOND – The Brookhaven Academy Cougars and Lady Cougars were victorious Friday night in the opening round of the District 5-AA tournament.

In the girls’ game, the Lady Cougars defeated host Central Hinds Lady Cougars, 43-36.

In earlier action, the BA boys were scheduled to play before the girls contest and they steamrolled the Amite School Center Rebels, 69-29.

With the win, BA has qualified for the MAIS South State tournament, which will be held at Simpson Academy starting Monday. The Cougars and Lady Cougars will begin action Tuesday.

Brookhaven Acad. 43, Central Hinds 36 

The Brookhaven Academy Lady Cougars knew going into Friday night’s match-up with the Central Hinds Lady Cougars that it would be a hard test on the hostess’ home court in Raymond.

After taking a 5 point lead into the locker room at halftime, the Lady Cougars outscored Central Hinds 15 – 5 in the third quarter and stretched their lead to as many as 17 points before holding off a late run by the home team to capture a 43 – 36 victory.

“This was a big win and a great effort by the entire team,” said BA head coach Mack Gardner. “We took care of the basketball tonight committing only 9 turnovers and that was a major key to our victory.”

Gardner concluded, “We’ll enjoy this one tonight and get back to work tomorrow.”

The sharp-shooting duo of Hillary Wilson and Madison Warren led the Lady Cougars with 15 and 14 points, respectively. Senior Lindsey Winborne added 8 points to the BA total including some crucial free throws down the stretch to secure the win.

Senior Mary Beth Hale paced Central Hinds with 19 points on the evening.

Brookhaven Acad. 69, ASC 29 

The Cougars came out sluggish in the first quarter before turning up the heat on the Rebels in the second quarter to take a 28-16 lead into halftime.

In the second half, BA continued their offensive scoring onslaught and drilled ASC 41-13 to claim the win and advance to the championship game.

Junior forward Peyton Hood was the offensive leader for the Cougars with 20 points and 7 rebounds. Zac Smith contributed 14 points, 7assists and 5 rebounds. Drake Flowers was the leader on the boards with 11 rebounds