RACINE, Ohio — It’s not how you start, rather how you finish that counts.

The Southern girls basketball team trailed by double-digits after one quarter but went on to beat Tri-Valley Conference Hocking Division foe Trimble 63-47 Monday night in Charles W. Hayman Gymnasium.

The Lady Tomcats (6-13, 6-7 TVC Hocking) shot over 50 percent in the first period en route to 20 points. Southern (5-13, 3-10) managed just eight points in the opening stanza after shooting just 21.4 percent.

The Lady Tornadoes got it going in the second period with a 15-to-9 run that cut the THS lead in half. The Lady Tomcats led 29-23 at halftime.

The Purple and Gold took the lead after a 17-to-9 in the third period. Southern’s defense held Trimble 9 over the final eight minutes, while the Lady Tornadoes shot 72.7 percent from the field in the fourth period to seal the 63-47 victory.

Southern had four players reach double figures in scoring, led by juniors Jordan Huddleston with 17 points and Celestia Hendrix with 16. Jansen Wolfe and Maggie Cummins each marked 10 points in the triumph, while Haley Hill added five. Shelby Pickens and Darien Diddle each contributed two points, and Alison Deem scored one point to round out the SHS total.

Hendrix paced the Lady Tornadoes with 11 rebounds, followed by Wolfe and Huddleston with six each. Cummins and Haley Hill led the victors with four assists each, followed by Deem with three. The defensive charge was led by Huddleston with four steals, and Haley Hill with three. Wolfe, Cummins, Hendrix and Haley Hill each had a rejection for the hosts.

As a unit the Purple and Gold had 35 rebounds, 16 assists, 15 steals, four blocks and 18 turnovers. Southern shot 9-of-19 (47.4 percent) from the free throw line and 25-of-62 (40.3 percent) from the field, including 4-of-21 (19 percent) from three-point range. Huddleston accounted for two of the SHS triples, while Cummins and Haley Hill had the others.

Nicole Kish led Trimble with 15 points, followed by Demi Moore and Emily McKee with eight apiece. Tia Altier had seven points, Kate Spencer marked four, Madi Moore added three and Danica Bickley rounded out the THS scoring with two points.

Demi Moore led the Lady Tomcats with seven rebounds, followed by Altier, Bickley and Spencer with five apiece. Altier and McKee each had four assists to lead Trimble, while the Lady Tomcat defense was led by McKee and Bickley with three steals each. Spencer had Trimble’s lone block.

Combined the Lady Tomcats had 34 rebounds, 14 assists, 11 steals and 27 turnovers. Trimble shot 10-of-19 (52.6 percent) from the charity stripe and 17-of-49 (34.7 percent) from the field, including 3-of-16 (18.8 percent) from beyond the arc. McKee accounted for two of the THS triples, while Demi Moore had the other.

The victory avenges Southern’s 42-37 loss to the Lady Tomcats on December 6th in Glouster. This is the second consecutive year SHS and Trimble split the season series.

The Lady Tornadoes have now won three of their last four games, while THS has now lost four of its last five.