The match-up between the Crystal Springs Lady Tigers and the Franklin County Lady Bulldogs in the first round of the Class 3A South State playoffs turned out to be a close one as expected.

And when it came down to the fourth quarter, Shareka Hunt and Charlesia Houston made big contributions for Franklin County on each end of the court as the Lady Bulldogs defeated the Lady Tigers 67-61 Monday night.

“It was a good game. It was a very evenly-matched game,” Lady Bulldogs head coach Charles Moore said. “We were able to get some big turnovers by Sherka Hunt in the fourth quarter.”

And when Monea Cameron and LaTanya Williams fouled out, Houston scored her only four points of the game in the final quarter. But as Moore put, those were four big points for Franklin County.

“Charlesia stepped up for us,” Moore said.

Hunt led all scorers with 24 points while Williams had 16 points and Paige Webster scored 13 points.

Crystal Springs, the No. 4 seed out of Region 6-3A, fell behind 34-26 at halftime after being outscored 21-12 in the second quarter. But the Lady Tigers, led by Shanika Green and Shanea Dixon, rallied to tie the game at 46-46 by outscoring the Lady Bulldogs 20-12 in the third quarter.

Green led Crystal Springs with 21 points and Dixon had 13 points. Felicia Haley chipped with 11 points for the Lady Tigers.

With the win, Region 7-3A champion Franklin County improved to 23-5 overall and advanced to the Class 3A South State Tournament at Southeast Lauderdale. The Lady Bulldogs will take on host Southeast Lauderdale Thursday at 8:30 p.m.

Harrisonburg girls 62,

Family Christian 48

HARRISONBURG — Kara Johnson scored a game-high 22 points, Katie Johnson had 14 points and Sloane Jefferson added 10 points as the Lady Bulldogs defeated the Lady Flames in a battle of district champions in the regional round of the LHSAA Class C playoffs.

Harrisonburg, the District 5-C champion used a big second quarter to open up a close game and District 9-C champion Family Christian never was able to recover.

The Lady Bulldogs improved to 33-7 overall and will play at Hicks, the No. 3 seed out of District 6-C, in the quarterfinals Thursday at 6:30 p.m. The winner of that game moves on to the Ladies’ Top 28 Tournament in Hammond, La., which starts next Monday.

Family Christian (20-17) also had three players score in double figures. Julie Harleson led the Lady Flames with 19 points while Candace Bacon had 15 points and Shanessa Morgan chipped in with 12 points. But only one other player scored for them and that proved to be costly.

So did a 20-9 advantage by Harrisonburg in the second quarter that gave the Lady Bulldogs a 34-20 halftime lead and essentially put the game way.