TROY&045;A 14-0 run at the start of the second quarter helped push Southside past Opp 51-34 in Regional action Thursday morning at Troy State.

The run turned a four-point first quarter deficit into a 10-point advantage and coach Matthews Williams’ team never looked back as they cruised to the win.

It helped that Opp suffered a pair of tough breaks. Junior post Sasha Musgrave went out with a knee injury, then senior forward Trinity Osborn got in foul trouble.

With the comfortable halftime lead, Williams was able to run some clock in the second half and sub liberally.

Point guard Kendra Marzette led all scorers as she controlled the game at the point.

She finished with 16 points and four steals in the win.

That togetherness was evident in the final seconds as the Southside starters were up on the bench and cheering as their back-ups tried to get in the scorebook.

The forward duo of Kimberly Broadnax and Andreaka Williams had 11 points each for the Lady Panthers.

Broadnax snagged 12 rebounds as well. Tiffany Anderson added six points, Makesha Towns added five points and Demetrice Shelton added two points. Shermita Thigpen added five rebounds.

For Opp, Ashley Mack led the way with 11 points.

She was the only Bobcat in double figures.

After a 9 a.m. tip, the game got off to a ragged start and Opp led 10-6 after a quarter of play.

The Lady Panthers opened the quarter on a 14-0 run that gave them a 10-point advantage.

They outscored Opp 22-5 in the frame.

With a 13-point halftime lead, Williams began to shorten the game.

He instructed Marzette to run the clock on each possession and he rested some of his inside players.

Opp threatened to get on track as Mack hit a couple of long buckets, but each time Southside answered with either a Marzette bomb or with Broadnax inside.

With the win, Southside advances to Saturday’s Regional Final at 12:20 p.m. against the Geneva/Central Coosa winner.