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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

TUSCALOOSA – The Briarwood Christian Lions grabbed an early lead and remained in front from there as they continued their strong recent form with another road victory.

Briarwood defeated the Northridge Jaguars 43-36 on Saturday, Jan. 18 at Northridge High School to extend its win streak to seven games in a row.

The Lions started off strong from deep, making four 3-pointers as a team in the first quarter, including two from Sasha Munikar. The other pair came from Emma Kerley and AT Baker, who each contributed five points in the opening quarter.

That helped Briarwood outpace Northridge and establish a 16-10 lead going into the second quarter, a lead that would prove crucial down the stretch as the game remained tight.

In a much more defensive second quarter, the Lions had the edge and surrendered just four more points before halftime. Claire Anderson and Sarah Travis opened up their scoring accounts for the day with crucial baskets to go with a pair of free throws from Baker.

As a result, the Lions outscored the Jags 7-4 in the second and took a 23-14 lead into the halftime break.

Northridge responded out of the gate with a much stronger offensive showing, scoring 15 points in the third quarter. However, Baker had other plans to counter.

She knocked down a trio of 3-pointers during the third quarter to fuel a big eight-minute stretch for Briarwood. Kerley, Travis, Anderson and Clara Crawford chipped in around her to combine for 17 points as a team and extend the lead to 40-29 at the end of the third.

The Jags continued to threaten that lead down the stretch thanks to a big late 3-pointer and a 4-for-4 stretch from the free throw line as a team.

Once again, Baker came up clutch, this time with three made free throws in four attempts to see out the seven-point victory to extend the win streak to seven.

Baker led Briarwood with 19 points, four assists and two steals. Kerley finished with eight points, two blocks and two assists, Munikar scored six points and Travis and Anderson each earned four points in the win.

The Lions are now 16-9 on the season and have just three games remaining until the playoffs. Briarwood will have a home area contest against Sylacauga and a road trip to Central-Clay County to finish out area play before its final regular season home game against Mountain Brook on Tuesday, Jan. 28.