By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sport Director

LUCEDALE — They’re called “free throws”, but they certainly cost the George County girls quite a bit Tuesday night.
The home-standing Lady Rebels missed 21 shots from the charity stripe against Picayune, allowing the Lady Tide to take away a 50-47 win as both teams resumed Region 4-6A play at Rudolph Sellers Gymnasium. The win moved Picayune to 8-13 overall, while George County dropped to 8-11.
More importantly, something had to give for either squad as far as the region race was concerned, as both teams came in 0-3 in league play. The win moved Picayune out of a tie for the bottom spot in the standings at 1-3, and left GCHS alone in the cellar at 0-4.

The Lady Rebels missed 11 free throws in the first half, and trailed, ironically enough, by 11 points at 31-20 at halftime.
Laikyn Moore scored 14 points for the Lady Tide in that first half, and she teamed up with Rhyen Goss in the first period to put Picayune ahead for good.
Goss nailed three 3-pointers in that opening frame and accounted for 11 points total in the quarter while Moore added nine points to combine for all of the Lady Tide’s 20 points as they took a 20-10 lead entering the second period.
Picayune continued to lead as the second half unfolded until a furious George County rally wrestled the lead away and put the Lady Rebels up 43-42 with three minutes to play on a 3-point basket by Delanie McNair.
However, Picayune recovered and outscored GCHS 8-4 over the final two minutes and change to secure the win.

Moore and Goss each tallied a game-high 19 points apiece to pace Picayune, while Delanie McNair led the Lady Rebels with 16 points while Mikayla Jordan chipped in 15 points and Dakari McNair added 12 points.
Both squads hit the road Friday night to resume region play, as George County heads to Long Beach and Picayune travels to Pascagoula.
The Pascagoula Lady Panthers will be coming off a road win as well when the Lady Tide arrives, after dispatching home-standing West Harrison 39-33 Tuesday night.
The loss was the first league defeat of the season so far for the Lady ‘Canes, as they drop to 3-1 while Pascagoula moves to that same 3-1 region mark with the win.
Massyah Thomas tallied a game-high 16 points to pace Pascagoula in the win, while Peyton Harmon added 10 points to the winning effort. The Lady Panthers stand 7-7 overall.
West Harrison got eight points from Tikyazha Barron and Taylor Rae Norwood added seven points as the Lady ‘Canes fell to 7-9 overall with the loss.