Briarfield’s Kanna Shepard, left, grabs one of her 13 rebounds from Porters Chapel’s Amy Beaugh, front, during the Lady Rebels’ 39-38 win on Tuesday. (Jon GiffinThe Vicksburg Post)

[1/21/04]When Briarfield couldn’t play keep-away anymore, it just tried to keep the ball out of Annie Beaugh’s hands.

Both strategies worked.

Mary Ann Lensing scored the game’s final basket on a layup with just under four minutes to play, and Briarfield held off Porters Chapel Academy down the stretch for a come-from-behind, 39-38 win Tuesday night.

Kanna Shepard had 17 points and 13 rebounds for Briarfield (6-6, 6-6 Conference 5-A), and Amy Amacker added 10 points.

Beaugh had a game-high 22 points for PCA, which had the ball for the final 50 seconds but managed only two shots in that span. The Lady Eagles went just 1-for-8 from the field in the fourth quarter, and shot 31 percent over the last three periods.

“I’ve got to have some leadership on the floor, and right now I just don’t have that as far as getting in an offense and setting it up and doing what I ask them to do,” PCA coach Kevin Griffin said. “Until we start listening as a team, we’re not going to win very many games.”

PCA started the game on fire, hitting 7 of 10 shots in the first quarter while building a 10-point lead. The Lady Eagles went cold in the second period, though, and Briarfield slowly clawed its way back into the game.

The Lady Rebels chipped away at the deficit and got within two points on several occasions late in the third quarter. Finally, with 6:20 to play in the game, Christa Swafford hit a 15-footer to tie it at 35-35. About 2 1/2 minutes later, Callie Lensing sank a jumper from the free throw line to give Briarfield its first lead of the game, 37-35.

“A lot of times, if you ever catch somebody you can beat them. But you’ve got to catch them first,” Briarfield coach Bobby Holt said.

Beaugh answered on the other end with a 3-pointer for PCA, but Mary Ann Lensing got her only points of the game on Briarfield’s next trip up the floor to put the Lady Rebels back in front, 39-38.

After a PCA miss, Briarfield got the ball with just under three minutes remaining and tried to hold it. PCA nearly forced two turnovers over the next two minutes before Allison Horn fouled Callie Lensing with 57.6 seconds to play.

Lensing missed the front end of a one-and-one, and Beaugh rebounded. Following a timeout, Beaugh missed a 3-pointer and Callie Lensing grabbed the rebound. Horn knocked it away, however, and it deflected off of Lensing to give the Lady Eagles the ball again with 18.4 seconds to play.

PCA inbounded and ran a play for Beaugh, but couldn’t get her the ball and called another timeout with 10.4 seconds remaining.

Following the timeout, PCA was once again unable to get the shot it wanted. The ball found its way into the hands of Lauren Johnson, who dribbled in from the 3-point line and fired up a shot from about 12 feet. It was badly off the mark and caromed off the backboard to Bailey Williams, who couldn’t get a shot off before the final buzzer sounded.

(B) Briarfield 63, PCA 40

Briarfield outscored PCA in every quarter and put the game away with a decisive 10-2 run late in the third, ending the Eagles’ six-game winning streak.

Montellus Craft had a game-high 25 points and 16 rebounds, Jeff King had 13 points and Pete Lensing added 12 points for the Rebels (7-5, 7-5), who committed only nine turnovers.

Dan Ivey led PCA with 13 points, Allen Cassell had 10, and Ryan Hoben added nine.

PCA shot 50 percent from the field in the first half to keep the game close, and trailed 34-27 midway through the third quarter. Briarfield took control from there, though, taking advantage of a shooting swoon and a string of turnovers by the Eagles to outscore PCA 10-2 over the last four minutes of the period.

The run stretched the Rebels’ lead to 46-30 after three quarters, and they pulled away from there.

(G) NW Rankin 67, WC 58

Carla Latham scored 18 points, Cookie Johnson netted 14 and Saleda Montgomery scored 11 in the Lady Vikes’ loss.

Northwest Rankin outrebounded WC 38-18 in the contest.

The loss dropped WC to 13-7.