Despite a close first half, the Brantley girls pulled away from Luverne in the second half to claim a 50-36 win Friday night in Brantley.

The Bulldogs held a slim 7-6 lead after the first quarter, but the Tigers outpaced Brantley in the second half to lead 18-17 at halftime.

However, the Bulldogs took the lead for good late in the third period and stretched the margin to 35-28.

“We just got after it in the second half,” said Brantley head coach Andrew Kilcrease. “The girls really did what I asked and got the ball inside where Ahmani Upshaw just did her thing.”

Upshaw ended the game with 16 points for Brantley, and Eisha Person had 10.

“We talked about defense at halftime, and we had to play hard because Luverne did a good job,” Kilcrease added.

Luverne head coach Andre Parks agreed that the Bulldogs’ inside presence was a key to the game.

“They came out in the second half and there was a big difference,” Parks said. “Upshaw made a big difference in the middle and we had trouble with that.”

“Tecluviana Robinson had a good game, but it was tough for us to move the ball around,” he continued.

Iesha Cannon was the top scorer for Luverne with 18 points, and Robinson added 12 points.