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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

BIRMINGHAM – The Briarwood Christian Lions started off the new year on the right foot as they defeated the Woodlawn Colonels 55-33 on the road on Tuesday, Jan. 2.

With the victory, the Lions swept the season series with the Colonels as they earned another win before the start of area play on January 5.

Briarwood came out of the gate with a strong performance on both ends of the floor. Ann Tatum Baker dominated on offense with 10 points in the first, and she and her teammates Mary Beth Dicen and Emma Kerley combined for the Lions’ 19 first-quarter points.

On defense, Briarwood held Woodlawn to just four points in the opening quarter and took a 15-point lead into the second quarter.

The teams were more evenly matched in the remainder of play before halftime, but Kerley’s six second-quarter points to take her into double figures for the half helped the Lions extend the lead to 30-14 at the break.

After the teams came out of the locker room, Briarwood got back to its scoring ways. Baker had six points in the third and Dicen added five more of her own to complement another strong defensive effort that put the Lions up 46-22 after the third quarter.

That gave Briarwood a large enough lead to see out the win and it cruised to a 22-point victory on the other side of Birmingham.

Baker led all scorers with a game-high 20 points and Kerley added 16 points. In addition, Dicen had a double-digit scoring night with 14 points to go with five assists and Claire Anderson grabbed seven rebounds.

The Lions will open area play at home on Friday, Jan. 5 at 6 p.m. against Pelham.