The fourth time wasn’t the charm for Pearl River Central against Poplarville this season.

And neither was the first, second or third time for that matter.

The Lady Hornets knocked off the Lady Devils for the fourth time this season, taking a 58-40 win Wednesday night in the opening round of the Region 8-4A Tournament.

With the win, Poplarville moves to 10-12 on the year and secures a state playoff berth for the fourth straight season.

PRC’s season comes to an end at 6-19.

The game is expected to be PRC head coach Donna Spiers’ last one at the helm of the Lady Devils.

With the win, Poplarville moves on to meet top seeded Bay High today at 4 p.m.

The Lady Hornets used full court pressure most of the game to turn the momentum in their favor. The Lady Devils had problems breaking the press all night and fell behind early.

“That was the difference,” Poplarville head coach Annette Smith said. “We did a very good job of playing hard for all four quarters..”

In addition to not handling the press very well early, PRC lost one of its best ball handlers in guard Hannah Discon to an injury early on as well.

Although she returned in the second half, she missed two quarters of action.

The Lady Hornets jumped out to a quick 13-3 lead, thanks to six points in the first quarter from Demi Beason and five points in the frame by Policia Travis.

PRC’s Brooke Eccles came up with a pair of baskets to cut the deficit to 13-8 after one quarter, but Poplarville took control in the second quarter thanks to a 13-3 run to open the frame that included six points inside from Dakiquari Raine.

The Lady Hornets led 28-13 at halftime, and PRC never cut the deficit below double digits in the second half.

Raine, Travis and Beason all scored 10 points apiece to pace Poplarville, while Larke Nightengale added eight points to the winning cause.

Eccles had 14 for PRC and Kayla Drummond tallied a game high 19 points but 13 of them came in the fourth period when the game was decided.

Play begins today at 4 p.m., while Picayune’s boys play at 5:30.