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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

NORTH SHELBY – Ahead of their area finale on Monday, Jan. 29 against Pelham, the Briarwood Christian Lions bounced back from a loss to Moody with a 39-9 victory over the Bessemer City Tigers on Thursday, Jan. 25 at Briarwood Christian School.

The Lions jumped out to a double-digit lead thanks to seven points from Ann Tatum Baker in the first quarter to go with five from Mary Beth Dicen.

Briarwood’s defense came out on the right foot and held Bessemer City scoreless from the field during the opening quarter, which gave the hosts a 15-2 after the first eight minutes.

Defense continued to be the name of the game in the second quarter as the Lions shut out the Tigers, opening the door for the offense to take a commanding lead.

Dicen continued to impact the game on offense for Briarwood with five more points to get her up to double-figures for the half. In addition, Claire Anderson scored four points in an 11-point second quarter for the Lions.

At the end of the first half, Briarwood led 26-2, and the Lions cruised to the win from there.

The third quarter was quieter from the field with just one made field goal from each team, but Briarwood made five free throws to win the quarter and extend their lead to 28.

Clara Crawford led the way in the final quarter with five points to help the Lions keep adding to their advantage, and her team closed out the 30-point victory to sweep the season series.

Baker led all scorers with a game-high 11 points and six steals while Dicen scored 10 points and earned five steals, all of which came in the first half.

Crawford scored nine points while securing 10 rebounds and Claire Anderson and Emma Kerley each had four points in the win.

Briarwood will now move on to face the Pelham Panthers on the road on Monday, Jan. 29 at 5:30 p.m. If the Panthers win on Friday, Jan. 26 against Helena, the game will be a matchup of 3-0 teams that will decide the regular season area title and a spot in sub-regionals.