The Brookhaven Lady Panthers suffered a 60-35 season ending loss Monday night to the Picayune Lady Maroon Tide in the opening round of the Class 5A State Playoffs at Sinclair Gymnasium.

The Lady Panthers, coached by Freda Craft, finished their season with a 5-23 record, but placed second in Region 6-5A action with a 4-2 record.

Brookhaven will lose five seniors: Yasmine Hill, Shoniece Smith, Chantel Quarles, Kynitria Hill and Danielle Batteast to graduation, but will return plenty of young and experience players next year as they prepare for the 2015-2016 season.

Picayune 60, Brookhaven 35 

The Lady Panthers and the Lady Maroon Tide provided a exciting battle in the opening round of the Class 5A playoffs at Sinclair Gymnasium as both teams fought hard to keep their season alive.

In the first quarter of action, Picayune quickly set the pace of the contest with a strong full court defensive pressure to disrupt Brookhaven’s game plan and claim a 17-7 advantage.

In the second frame of action, the Lady Maroon Tide continued their aggressiveness and managed to increase their lead with a 14-9 run to take a 31-16 lead into halftime.

In the second half, Picayune continued to outscore the Lady Panthers with with a 10-8 push in the third quarter and a 19-11 run in the fourth quarter to secure the victory at 60-35.

Senior forward Chantel Quarles was the top scorer for the Lady Panthers with 13 points and eight rebounds. Kynitria Hill contributed seven points and had six rebounds. Jada Henderson provided five points and grabbed three rebounds. Asia Byrd scored four points and collected five rebounds.

Picayune had three players to score in double figure as Kelin Burton and Mya Whitehead led the charge with 16 points apiece. Tyesha Smith chipped in with 10 points.