The Cornersville Lady Bulldogs continued their decade long run of dominance over Culleoka on Friday night, as they rolled to a 49-27 victory at home to record their 23rd straight win over the Lady Warriors.

Coming off a disappointing performance against Richland earlier in the week, the Bulldogs bounced back by hammering the Warriors 66-32 in the nightcap to pick up their first District victory of the season.

The Lady Bulldogs (4-2, 1-1 District) pounced on Culleoka early and jumped out to an 18-8 lead in the first quarter behind eight points from Breanne Dunkleman and four points apiece from freshmen Madison Hopkins and Samantha Prosser.

Threat quashed

After Cornersville extended their lead to 28-17 in the second period with the help of baskets from Dunkleman, Ashley Umbles, Prosser, Haley Stacey, and Britton Stewart, the Lady Warriors (3-5, 1-1 District) outscored the Lady Bulldogs 10-9 in the third quarter to trim the deficit to 34-24.

Cornersville then delivered the knockout blow in the fourth period by closing the game with a 15-3 run on the strength of six points from Hopkins to pull away for the 22-point win.

"We switched some things up with our lineup and it worked out well for us," said Lady Bulldogs coach Peyton Newton. "We played good defense and got a bunch of transition baskets off of steals. We looked like a totally different team tonight."

Hopkins turned in the best performance of her young Cornersville career and led the Lady Bulldogs with 12 points.

"Madison is really coming on. She had to adjust to the speed of the high school game, but things are starting to slow down for her. She did a great job defending their point guard," said Newton.

Dunkleman followed Hopkins with 10 points, while Prosser, Umbles, and Brooke Holt tallied eight, six, and four points respectively. Stewart chipped in three points for the Lady Bulldogs as well, and Stacey, Carson Coble, and Kelsey Wortham each had two points.

Hayley Foster paced the Lady Warriors with 10 points, while Sarah Liggett, Logan Scott, and Taylor Daly added seven, six, and four points respectively.

Bulldogs win

Having swept the season series against Culleoka last year, the Bulldogs (2-4, 1-1 District) buried the Warriors early in Friday's contest and built a 21-2 lead in the first quarter behind 13 points from point guard Tate Lowery and a pair of treys from Brian Lowe and Wes Meadows.

Culleoka (1-7, 0-2 District) whittled the deficit to 37-19 at halftime, but Cornersville outscored the Warriors 12-7 in the third period with the help of seven points from Lowe and three points from Lowery to open up a 49-26 advantage.

The Bulldogs then ended the game with a flourish and put together a 17-6 run in the fourth quarter on the strength of six points from Michael Allen and five points from Lowery to cruise to their third straight win over Culleoka.

"We set the tone defensively. They had a hard time handling our press and we forced some turnovers," said Cornersville coach Gerard Randolph. "Getting off to a good start allowed our guys to get some confidence. It looked like they were having fun out there."

Career night

Lowery spearheaded the Bulldogs' offensive attack by pouring in a career high 30 points. Lowe also tallied 10 points for the Bulldogs, while Meadows and Allen added eight points apiece. Jamie Crowell chipped in four points for Cornersville as well and Zack Smith and Jacob Reeves both had three points.

"It was nice to see Tate have a game like this. He's been frustrated lately so this was a good game for him. He shot the ball well and did a good job of taking it to the basket," said Randolph.

Matthew Gilliam paced the Warriors with six points, while Sam Davis and Savon Tears notched five points apiece.