MERRY HILL – They are like two ships passing in the night.

When last year’s Tarheel Independent Conference runner-up Albemarle School met Lawrence Academy here Thursday night it was a tale of two teams heading in opposite directions.

The Lady Warriors finished last inside the TIC a year ago, posting only one win while Albemarle lost just twice during the conference slate.

This season, Lawrence used a strong third quarter to grab a 30-22 league win, their second in the last three outings.

Holding a slim 8-5 advantage two minutes into the third quarter, the Lady Warriors rolled off seven unanswered points to pull out the win.

Junior Kate Gillam scored the first bucket at the 6:32 mark of the quarter and was followed by a free throw from Jodi White.

Senior Catherine Outten hit back-to-back buckets to push the Lady Warriors’ lead to 15-5 at the 5:02 mark of the quarter.

After Albemarle pulled back to within five thanks to hoops by Jamie Phillips and Sarah Kerr, Lawrence finished the quarter with another 6-0 run. Gillam, Outten and junior Jessica Johnston each scored to give the Lady Warriors a 21-10 lead.

Albemarle tried to come back in the fourth quarter, scoring six straight to get back within five points. Amber Bateman put in two of the buckets while Jesse Plumblee added the third.

The Warriors finally got back on the board with just over three minutes to play. White and Outten hit consecutive hoops to push the lead to nine (25-16).

Six points later, the Lady Colts were within three at 25-22.

The Lady Warriors were able to seal the victory as Outten hit three free throws and Jane Perry added a couple of shots from the charity stripe to establish the 30-22 win.

Early in the contest, the Lady Warriors took the lead on a Johnston bucket, but Heather Meiggs answered with a trey for the Lady Colts.

Lawrence scored the next four points, thanks to hoops by White and Perry, to establish a 6-3 lead.

Perry hit the only shot for Lawrence in the second quarter while the Lady Colts were able to answer with a single free throw from Ashley Taylor.

After the contest, first-year coach Charlie Harden was pleased with his team’s effort.

&uot;I thought we had a good defensive effort,&uot; he said. &uot;We’ve been through a tough three-game stretch this week and I think that will help us as we head to tournament time.&uot;

Harden said his club’s second league victory after only winning one a season ago was huge for the program.

&uot;It’s nice to get that second conference victory as we close our first pass through the league,&uot; Harden said, &uot;especially when you have a year like we did last year.&uot;

The coach said as they head into the second part of the conference season, his team is getting better.

&uot;All we have to do now is get the ball in the hole,&uot; he insisted. &uot;We are running our offense and defense well, we just have to get our shots to fall.&uot;

The Lady Warriors will now be off for a full week for exams before traveling to archrival Ridgecroft School next Friday evening.

Lady Warriors (30): Catherine Outten – 11, J. Perry – 6, J. White – 5, K. Gillam – 4, J. Johnston – 4

Lady Colts (22): Amber Bateman – 7, H. Meiggs – 5, C. Jones – 3, S. Kerr – 2, J. Phillps – 2, J. Plumblee – 2, A. Taylor – 1