It took three overtime periods, but Franklin County scratched out a narrow 75-72 win over West Lincoln Tuesday night.

In the girls’ contest, the Lady Bears outscored the Lady Bulldogs 10-3 in the final quarter to secure a 37-30 victory.

West Lincoln will take the rest of the week off before returning to action Tuesday, when it hosts the Bogue Chitto Bobcats. The varsity girls tip off at 6 p.m., followed by the boys’ game at 7:30 p.m.

<cTypeface:Bold> Franklin Co. 75, W. Lincoln 72 <cTypeface:Plain>

The Bears and Bulldogs fought in a low-scoring battle in the first half as West Lincoln took a 28-24 lead into halftime.

In the second half, Franklin rallied back to outscore West Lincoln 28-24 to tie the contest at 52-52 to force overtime.

In the first overtime period, both teams scored five points each to end with the score tied at 57-all. In the second overtime period, both teams traded eight points each to end to with a 65-65 tie.

In the third overtime period, West Lincoln put together a 5-0 run to claim a 70-65 lead, but Franklin County answered with a 10-2 run in the final two minutes to collect the exciting win.

“This was an exciting game to watch if you were a fan, but not as exciting as a coach,” said FC coach Ricky O’Quinn. “This was a battle in which free throws were the deciding factor. We were very fortunate to come away with the win.”

Franklin County was 17-of-31 at the free throw line, while West Lincoln finished 21-of-29.

Ronnie Edwards pumped in a game-high 27 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for the Bears. Keshaun London chipped in with 14 points, four rebounds and four assists. Donterrius Taylor netted 11 points. Jatavian Lewis provided eight points. Adam Martinez finished with five points. Landon Lynch scored four points and Dominique Chism had three points.

The Bulldogs had four players to score in double figures as Jalon Dogan scored a team-high 26 points and had six rebounds. Kel Covington provided 15 points. Cameron Young had a double-double performance on 14 points and 14 rebounds. Tony Gibbs netted 13 points and gathered seven rebounds. Dalivan Hunt and Gerryon Bell scored three points each.

Lady Bears 37, Lady Bulldogs 30 

The Lady Bears jumped on the Lady Bulldogs to claim a early 15-7 lead in the first period, but Franklin County battled back with a 9-6 run in the second to cut into West Lincoln’s lead at 21-16 at halftime.

In the third period, both team fought to a 27-27 tie after three quarters of action. In the final period, West Lincoln managed to pull away from Franklin County with a 10-3 run to secure the win.

Jana Case powered the Lady Bears (4-2) with 13 points and four rebounds. Layton Sills scored 10 points. Alli Mullins netted eight points and had four rebounds. Demesha Deer and Hanna Moak scored three points each. Moak was the leader on the boards with six rebounds. Skylar Hall had five rebounds.

Sierra Bethley directed the Lady Bulldogs (1-5) with 14 points and nine rebounds. Autumn Covington and Poly Harris scored six points each. Thaikurria Norman and Shemiah Amos added one point each.

“The girls played hard and hustled,” said O’Quinn. “We are a very young and inexperienced team with only one starter back from last year squad. This was a great learning experience to help us get better as a team.”