The Marshall County Tigerettes (0-3) missed a golden opportunity to pick up a win on Friday night when they dropped a 56-49 decision on the road to the Culleoka Lady Warriors.

Having posted a 10-21 record last season en route to finishing fourth in the District 11-A standings, Culleoka held a 20-17 lead at halftime before the Tigerettes rallied to seize a 34-33 advantage late in the third quarter.

The Lady Warriors, however, stepped up their play down the stretch and outscored Marshall County 23-15 over the final nine minutes of the contest to even their record at 2-2.

Underestimated

"I think we underestimated them and the girls were honest about it after the game," said MCHS coach David Junkins. "Give Culleoka credit because they're a good team and know their roles. As we continued to flounder they gained confidence. We've got to be ready to play every game. We were a little too lighthearted today and won't make that mistake again."

Although the Tigerettes outrebounded the Lady Warriors 39-30, held a 15-6 edge on the offensive glass, and committed six fewer turnovers (21-15) than Culleoka, Marshall County was unable to take advantage of those extra scoring opportunities and shot just 32 percent (21-of-66) from the field despite knocking down 3-of-8 three-point attempts. MCHS also struggled at the foul line and made only 4-of-14 free throw attempts overall.

Allison Hargrove drilled three treys and led the Tigerettes with 16 points and eight rebounds. Kiya Morris tallied 15 points, nine rebounds, and seven steals as well, while Alexis Ford added 10 points, nine rebounds, and three blocked shots. Zachuriya O'Neal also chipped in four points for MCHS, and Ti Lee and Dymond Wicks both had two points.

Big performance

Bolstered by a 7-of-8 shooting performance from forward Logan Scott, the Lady Warriors shot 41 percent (16-of-39) from the floor, which included a 3-of-8 effort from beyond the arc. Culleoka did a good job getting to the foul line as well and attempted 36 free throws in the contest, hitting 21.

Scott paced four Lady Warrior players in double figures with 19 points, while Haley Foster and Sarah Liggett notched 14 and 12 points respectively. Niki Lee also added 10 points and Taylor Daly had one point.

Culleoka inched out to an early 5-2 lead before Marshall County outscored the Lady Warriors 15-9 over the next eight minutes behind six points from Ford and five points from Morris to seize a 17-14 advantage late in the second quarter.

After tallying the final six points of the first half to take a 20-17 lead into the break, Culleoka opened up a 22-17 advantage at the start of the third quarter thanks to a baseline jumper by Scott.

Lead changes

The Tigerettes scored seven of the next nine points with the help of a Hargrove three and a pair of baskets from O'Neal and Ford to tie the game at 24-24 before the Lady Warriors notched five straight points to pull ahead 29-24 midway through the third period.

Marshall County then went on a 10-4 run, highlighted by two treys from Hargrove, to grab a 34-33 lead late in the third quarter, but Culleoka outscored MCHS 14-6 over the next 6:09 to forge a 47-40 advantage midway through the fourth period.

The Tigerettes made one last rally attempt and put together a 9-4 spurt behind six points from Morris to slice the deficit to 51-49 with :36.

Marshall County, though, came up empty on their final four possessions while the Lady Warriors scored the final five points of the game on three foul shots and a layup by Lee to seal their 56-49 victory.