On Wednesday, the Lady Devils defeated George County High School 41-34 in the first round of the Vancleave High School Paul Wallace Classic.

Samantha Orgeron, Harlee Davis and Madison Gower led a balanced scoring attack for PRC, with Orgeron scoring 10 points and tallying four steals and Davis finishing with 10 points and four assists.

Gower, despite missing several minutes of play after injuring her knee in the second quarter while diving for a loose ball, scored a career-high nine points, eight of which came after the injury, Pearl River Central Head girls basketball Coach Tony LaBella said.

George County took an early 5-0 lead but Gowen and Orgeron helped the Lady Devils take a 12-9 lead by the end of the first quarter.

By halftime, PRC extended its lead 20-14 and after three quarters, the team held a 30-20 point lead.

The Lady Rebels were able to cut PRC’s lead to only five points on two different occasions in the fourth quarter, but four successful free throws by Davis late in the game helped the team secure the victory, LaBella said.

Breyanna Bernard had eight rebounds and six points. PRC won its 10th game of the last eleven played.

—Lady Tomcats 35, Lady Devils 32

After being outscored 6-2 in the final three minutes of the Thursday’s game, Stone County High School defeated the Lady Devils 35-32 in the semifinal game of the Vancleave High School Paul Wallace Classic.

The Lady Devils trailed 23-13 at halftime and fell behind by as many as 12 points at one point through the third quarter, but the team stayed on track and took a 30-29 lead early in the fourth quarter.

At the end, turnovers, missed free throws and unsuccessful layups caused the Lady Devils (11-4) to fall short of victory, LaBella said.

PRC’s only field goal in the last five minutes of the game came from Orgeron, who scored a layup at the buzzer, but the game was already decided.

“At the end of the day, I have to do a better job of coaching us to understand the value of each possession, especially when it’s a low-scoring game and points are hard to come by,” LaBella said. “I have to do more things at practice to help us win end-of-quarter situations and critical half-court trips when the game is on the line.”

LaBella also said the team played well defensively for the most part but they can’t have quick turnovers, which limits the number of possessions on the offensive end.

PRC finished out the tournament Friday by facing Greene County High School and will play its next home game Tuesday against Long Beach High School.

The Lady Devils will tip-off at 2 p.m., while the boys’ varsity team will take the court at 3:15 p.m.

This will be both teams last non-district game before traveling to face North Pike High School Friday night.