CAMDEN – The scoreboard may not have read what he would have liked, but Southside High School Lady Panthers coach Matthews Williams didn’t appear too concerned.

Williams took his Lady Panthers’ 62-43 loss to the Wilcox Central Lady Jaguars in stride Saturday night. It was just 24 hours since Southside had beaten Brewbaker Tech, also on the road.

“We were a little sluggish from last night,” Williams said. “Plus we played a good team tonight.

“Before we get to the playoffs, we need games like this. We played a very good (Class) 5A team. When we get to the playoffs, we’ll go back down to (Class) 4A.”

Wilcox Central used its speed and size to outman Southside. The Lady Jaguars led 15-8 after the first period, then methodically dismantled Southside the rest of the way.

The Lady Jaguars opened the second quarter with a 16-4 run to stretch their lead to 31-12. Adrianna Dukes sparked the Wilcox run when she slipped the ball away from Southside guard Kelsey Brown at mid-court and took it the distance for the lay-up to make it 23-8.

Sheronika Finklea put the Lady Jaguars up 31-12 when she drained a bank shot from the right wing with just over a minute to play in the first half.

Southside (7-8) tried to get back in the game before halftime. Kendra Marquette’s hook shot from the right baseline capped a 7-0 run that got the Lady Panthers back to within a dozen, 31-19, at halftime.

But Wilcox Central would not allow Southside back into the game.

The Lady Jaguars took advantage of Southside turnovers and missed shots, converting them into fast-break opportunities.

Jameika Smith capped a 4-on-2 break for the Lady Jaguars with a running lay-up that stretched the Wilcox lead to 48-27 with just over a minute left in the third quarter. The Lady Jaguars led 48-34 after three periods.

Tiffany Anderson sank one of her four 3-pointers in the game to bring the Lady Panthers to within 54-41 with 3:56 to play.

But Wilcox Central pressed the Lady Panthers the rest of the way, keeping Southside out of shooting distance.