The Russell Christian Academy girls basketball team kept it close for a half and even led at intermission, but offensive woes in the second half spelled trouble as they fell to South Choctaw Academy, 39-30, in Friday night prep hoops action.

The Lady Warriors managed just four points in the third quarter and nine points in the fourth quarter. Payton Lippert, RCA’s go-to scorer who had nine first-half points, didn’t hit a basket in the second half thanks to the South Choctaw defense keying in on her.

“They pretty much covered up Payton, and she’s the one we’ve gone to the whole year, and they pretty much know what we’re trying to accomplish (with her),” RCA head coach Karen Nolan said. “We just couldn’t hit anything from the other positions and couldn’t seem to feed the ball in to anybody else, and so, we just kind of got stagnant (offensively).”

The game was tied 5-5 after the first, and Lippert shined in the second quarter, scoring eight points — four off free throws — to help propel her squad to a 15-14 lead at halftime. South Choctaw, meanwhile, was just 1 of 8 from the free-throw line in the second period.

In the third, field goals by Olivia Faulkner and Blair Robinson were the only points scored by RCA as the Lady Rebels tallied seven points in the frame to take a 21-19 lead after three.

In the fourth quarter, the Lady Rebels pulled away for good. South Choctaw finally began to hit free throws, going 9 of 12 from the line, while outscoring the Lady Warriors 14-6 in the first six minutes of the fourth. Two 3-point baskets, one by Kenzie Holifield and one by Gabby Litchfield, were the highlight of the final period offensively for RCA.

No one for the Lady Warriors scored in double figures. After Lippert’s nine points, the next leading scorer for RCA was Faulkner, who finished with six points.

“They kept at it and kept hustling and gave me everything they had, we just had a lot of shots that didn’t fall and turned the ball over a lot, and all of the pieces just didn’t fall into place,” Nolan said. “We just didn’t pull it out.”

RCA fell to 4-7 on the season.

SOUTH CHOCTAW 52,

RCA BOYS 36

A strong performance by Brett Boland for RCA wasn’t enough as the South Choctaw boys jumped out to an early lead and cruised in the second half for a win.

Boland scored 20 of the Warriors’ 36, with the next leading scorer for RCA being Michael Vandrunen, who tallied eight points.

The Rebels jumped out to a 17-6 lead after one quarter, with Boland’s four points and Vandrunen’s two foul shots accounting for RCA’s only points in the period. South Choctaw added to its lead in the second quarter, outscoring the Warriors 9-6 in the opening five minutes of the period. After that, the South Choctaw coach pulled her starters for several minutes, allowing RCA to start chipping away at that lead. The Warriors would go on a 9-3 run over the final few minutes of play, trailing 28-21 at the break.

In the third quarter, however, South Choctaw came out strong and put the game away. The Rebels began the second half by scoring 10 unanswered points, then outscored RCA 10-4 the rest of the way to lead 48-25 at the end of three.

With the 20-point threshold being reached, Alabama Independent School Association officials ran a continuous clock in the fourth quarter to close out the game. Boland had a strong final frame, scoring nine of his 20 in the fourth.

The Rebels had strong success from beyond the arc, hitting eight 3-pointers in the contest. The Warriors, by contrast, managed just two trays, both by Boland.

RCA (1-11) will host Escambia Academy today.