On Thursday night, the Lewisburg Middle School Tigerettes (3-3) snapped a three-game losing streak by going on the road and defeating Whitthorne Middle School 28-15.

Lewisburg led from start to finish and held a 12-7 advantage at the end of the first half before outscoring Whitthorne 16-8 over the final two quarters to pull away for the 13-point victory.

The Tigerettes finished with a 12-6 advantage in field goals while committing seven fewer turnovers (23-16) than WMS.

Solid defense

"I thought overall our defense was pretty solid and we were able to get some easy points off of turnovers. That was important because we didn't hit too many shots from the perimeter," said Lewisburg coach Chris Coleman. "Their size inside gave us some trouble on the defensive boards, but overall it was a good all around effort and something we can build on. We really needed this win to get us back on track."

Point guard Leah Hollingsworth was the Tigerettes main offensive catalyst and poured in a game high 16 points. Sydne Solomon followed Hollingsworth with six points, while Alli Hobbs and Taylor Walls chipped in four and two points respectively.

"Leah picked us up offensively. We rely on her to get us going until somebody else can pick it up. She carried us the first three quarters and then some other people stepped up for us in the fourth," said Coleman.

Macy Gilliam and Terri Wilson paced Whitthorne with six points apiece, while Serene White added three points.

Quick lead

Lewisburg got off to a fast start and grabbed an early 6-0 lead thanks to four points from Hollingsworth and a basket from Hobbs.

After WMS trimmed the deficit to 6-2 on a field goal by Gilliam, the Tigerettes stretched their lead to 10-2 late in the first quarter with the help of a free throw from Hobbs and a Hollingsworth trey.

Whitthorne rattled off five straight points to narrow the gap to 10-7 in the second quarter before Hollingsworth scored a basket to give Lewisburg a 12-7 advantage at the break.

The Tigerettes then pushed their lead to 14-7 early in the third quarter on a field goal by Hollingsworth before WMS notched the next three points to whittle the deficit to 14-10.

Breathing room

Lewisburg then opened up some breathing room by putting together a 7-0 run behind four points from Hollingsworth and a basket from Walls to forge a 21-10 advantage early in the fourth period.

Whitthorne tallied four of the next six points to close the gap to 23-14, but the Tigerettes outscored WMS 5-1 the rest of the way on the strength of three points from Hollingsworth and a Solomon field goal to cap their 28-15 triumph.