BEAUREGARD-The Beauregard High School girls’ team had met every challenge they’ve had so far this season, winning the Class 4A, Area 7 regular season.

On Thursday night, however, Beauregard faced a much more formidable opponent – the Southside High School Lady Panthers, participants in last season’s Class 4A state Final Four.

The Hornets fought hard, but the Lady Panthers’ superior experience and a sloppy second half from Beauregard were too much to overcome, as the Hornets finally fell, 77-71.

“I was hoping for a better outcome, but my hat goes off to Southside,” Beauregard coach Kevin Philpot said. “We knew we couldn’t make many mistakes and expect to beat them. They just had too much talent and playoff experience.”

Beauregard got off to the strong start it needed to contend with Southside, trading baskets with the Lady Panthers for most of the first quarter.

Shanikia Buchannan found her shot early, hitting her first three shots for eight points to help give Beauregard to a 19-18 first-quarter lead.

In the second quarter, though, Southside started to show why it went so deep in the playoffs last year. The Lady Panthers outscored Beauregard 28-15 behind 11 points from Kimberly Broadnax to take a 12-point lead at the half.

Southside extended its lead in the third quarter, pushing ahead by 18 before Beauregard’s Tiambra Dinkins decided to take over the game.

Dinkins scored eight consecutive points for the Hornets, sparking a 14-4 run to end the quarter for Beauregard, closing the gap to six heading into the fourth quarter.

Beauregard started the fourth quarter right where it had left off in the third, scoring six more unanswered points to tie the game at 61 with six minutes left in the game.

Two possessions later, the Hornets took their first lead since the first quarter as Whitney Lynn-Moss took the ball cross court for a lay-up. It was the last time Beauregard would score for three minutes, as Southside pulled away late to win.