McKenzie School girls coach Cindy Lowe was concerned that her team would suffer a letdown after the Lady Tigers notched their first win in school history over J.F. Shields on Tuesday.

Her fears came true, but McKenzie (4-1) still found a way to knock off county rival Georgiana, 43-39 on Thursday.

&#8220We didn't play near as well as we did against Shields, but I'm proud that my girls found a way to win and avoid a letdown,” Lowe said. &#8220I was worried that our girls were too overconfident coming in because they knew that Georgiana had a young basketball team.”

The Lady Panthers (1-3) tied the game late in the fourth period and had a chance to grab the lead with less than two minutes to go, but could not convert on two free throws.

McKenzie's LaSha Pitts broke the stalemate with a basket with 1:42 left to play.

Georgiana rushed back down the floor to try to tie the game, but the Lady Tigers responded with a LaRonica Peterson basket to put the game away for good for McKenzie.

Carrena Davison led the Lady Tigers with 14 points, while Amber Rudolph and Pitts chipped in eight points each.

Georigana's Sha-Taska Mobley led all scorers with 15 points. Patrice Cheatham added 11.

The Georgiana boys varsity team improved to 3-1 on the year with an easy 68-34 victory over the Tigers.

The Panthers jumped out to a 10-4 lead in the opening quarter and continued to build on its lead throughout the game.

Leading 43-27 in the third period, Georgiana coach Jerome Harris III emptied his bench before settling for a 34-point win.

Kenny Peterson was one of three Panthers to finish the game in double figures. Peterson led all scorers with 18, while Jamie Williams had 14. Glenn Clark added 13.

Sattrick Rudolph led McKenzie with 13 points, while Rhett Lowe had 12.

McKenzie returns to action Tuesday in another area contest at Pleasant Home, while Georgiana hits the road to open area play at Excel on Wednesday.