Huntington High freshman Emily Hazlip rebounded a missed shot and banked it in from under the goal to give the Lady Hounds a 35-33 win over River Oaks in the first round of the MPSA&160;District 6A&160;Tournament at Trinity Episcopal Monday.

&uot;I was scared when the first shot missed, but when I got the ball and made it, I knew we were going to win,&uot; Hazlip said. &uot;This was definitely our biggest win.&uot;

It was the only time Huntington led in the contest.

In other first round action, Tallulah’s girls defeated Ben’s Ford 52-39 Presbyterian Christian’s boys eliminated Tallulah 67-61 and Briarfield’s boys ended Tensas’ season 3-52.

Huntington’s girls play Presbyterian Christian Wednesday at 4 p.m.

Both teams came out sluggish as the first quarter ended with the Lady Mustangs up 4-2.

Huntington’s first basket didn’t come until the 2:23 mark as Jo-Lee Hughes hit a basket. The Lady Hounds hit only 1 of 16 field goals in the first quarter.

&uot;I&160;told the girls when they first walked in the dressing room that they didn’t play good, but they won because they wanted it,&uot; said Huntington coach Penny Moak. &uot;They played so hard.&uot;

The Lady Hounds only scored six points in the second quarter, but held River Oaks to 11 points.

Huntington, trailing 15-8 at halftime, held Lady Mustangs’ top scorer L.A. Johnson to seven points over the first two quarters.

&uot;We worked all week on stopping L.A.,&uot;&160;Moak said. &uot;I was proud of our defense.&uot;

River Oaks led 22-14 in the third quarter when Sarah Ashmore hit a basket and Tessa Taunton completed a 3-point to pull the Lady Hounds within 22-19 with 1:35.

Hazlip, who finished with 10 points, hit a free throw and Ashmore made a lay-up with seven seconds left as the Lady Hounds trailed 24-23 going into the final quarter.

Hughes tied the game at 29-29 with 2:24 remaining.

Johnson, who finished with 17 points, put River Oaks back up with a rebound of her own shot, but Tiffany Ferguson tied the game with a basket with 1:13 left.

Johnson and Kathryn Huckaby each hit a free throw to put the Lady Mustangs ahead 33-31 with 40 seconds remaining.

Ashmore, who also finished with 10 points, tied the game at 33-33 with a basket with 39 seconds remaining.

Huntington forced a turnover and Hazlip’s rebound basket out the Lady Hounds up.

Johnson dribbled up the floor and put up a 3-pointer at the buzzer that rimmed out.

River Oaks finishes its season at 7-14. The Lady Hounds are now 9-17.

The Huntington team is comprised of sophomores and freshman.

&uot;They are so competitive that they don’t look at themselves as freshmen or sophomores,&uot; Moak said.

Huntington’s boys face Franklin today at 8:30 p.m. Trinity’s girls meet Franklin at 7 p.m. today. Trinity’s boys meet Presbyterian Christian Wednesday at 8:30 p.m.