EDMONTON – The Metcalfe County Lady Hornets, behind inspired team defense and 13 points from junior guard Kara Reece, ended a four game skid with a 48-41 victory over district rival Cumberland County on Tuesday.

Metcalfe trailed 12-7 after the first quarter of play, but outscored Cumberland 28-11 over the second and third quarters to take the lead for good.

“We started making them make mistakes by pressuring the ball handlers and challenging their shots,” Metcalfe coach Peter DiStefano said. “We have a lot of young girls on this team and tonight was a good win for them and a good lesson for us. I was very pleased at how they came together tonight.”

Taylor Davidson got the visitors on the board first, and after a two minute scoring dearth by both sides, Metcalfe’s Christie Jewell dropped in a basket and free throw to spark an exchange of fast break baskets that left the score 8-7.

Cumberland (6-7, 2-1 district) had a chance to pull away early, however the Lady Panthers missed five consecutive free throws. Brianna Groce scored in a putback shot and then Kendra McIntyre’s free throws ended the first period with the visitors up 12-7.

“We really weren’t getting after their ball handlers much in the first period,” DiStefano said. “Fortunately for us, they didn’t convert some free throws or some chances they had or we might have been in a deeper hole. We fixed a couple of things at the break and got back to doing what we needed to be doing.”

Metcalfe, who dropped a 59-43 contest to the Lady Panthers earlier in the season, found inspiration from a couple of their youngest players in the second quarter.

Neither team could find net in the first couple of minutes until Jewell nailed a trey, followed by Kara Reece stealing an in bounds pass that sparked a 6-0 Lady Hornet run. Riley Eskridge and Tayler McMurtrey, a pair of 8th-graders, came off the bench and ignited Metcalfe’s defense to harass Cumberland’s ball handlers into a flurry of miscues, while Aspen Edwards dropped in back-to-back baskets that put Metcalfe up 19-15 late in the second quarter.

The Lady Hornets held a 19-17 lead at the break. Metcalfe outshot Cumberland 41 to 33 percent in the first half.

Edwards’ long jumper followed by Rhea Ellen Thompson’s 3-pointer sparked Metcalfe to a seven point lead in the third quarter. It was a lead the Lady Hornets wouldn’t surrender as they went on to the district win.

Metcalfe (4-7, 1-3 district) held a 35-23 lead heading into the fourth quarter before Cumberland pulled close late.

The visitors made it interesting at the end with a pair of 3-pointers that sliced the lead to six. But with 33 seconds left Reece split a pair of free throws that sealed the victory.

Reece led Metcalfe with 13 points and Edwards added 11. Taylor Davidson led Cumberland with 15 points.

The Lady Hornets continue district play Friday at Clinton County.