While the clash between Greenville and Central’s boys varsity teams was a nail-biter until the very end, the Lady Tigers put away the visiting Lady Lions handily with a decisive 70-44 win.

Greenville coasted to the win largely off the success of a stellar first-half performance that gave the Lady Tigers an 11-point lead heading into the third quarter, though the Lady Lions very nearly mounted a comeback at the quarter’s halfway point.

Though Central struggled to find the rim for the first four minutes, Rashanique Rasberry brought the Lady Lions some much-needed offense in the form of a clutch 3-pointer from downtown.

Diamond Burke followed shortly followed suit with back-to-back 3-pointers of her own, closing the sizeable lead to a reasonable single-digit lead.

But despite the Lady Lions’ penchant for knocking down tough shots, it was the easier, high-percentage baskets that plagued Central’s offense.

Central punished a lackadaisical Lady Tigers defense for getting down court quickly, but failed to capitalize on the opportunity by missing a handful of uncontested layups.

Meanwhile, Greenville’s offense began to find a rhythm with all players firing on every cylinder, especially senior Shakireyonna Rudolph, who pushed the floor and created a number of fast-break opportunities for the Lady Tigers.

Central’s second-half spark began to dim in the fourth, despite some improved offensive rebounding and an early putback from junior Orianna Gordon.

A pair of beautiful back-to-back 3-pointers from the Lady Tigers stripped Central’s sails of its wind as the Greenville lead only grew as the fourth wore on.

The Lady Tigers improve to 10-2 with the win as the team prepares to face Brewbaker Tech Magnet High School—one of the teams responsible for Greenville’s two losses—on Tuesday.