AHOSKIE – Hayes Bryant and Lauren Lilley combined to lead Ridgecroft to a home win Friday night.

Bryant poured in 18 points and Lilley contributed 12 as the Lady Rams rolled by Tarheel Independent Conference rival Lawrence Academy 51-21.

While those two were leading the scoring for the Rams, it was Jo Revelle Murray and Kristen Cayton that sparked the Ridgecroft defense. Known for their in-your-face defense, the Rams had struggled on that end of the court during recent outings.

Head coach Doug Cobbs said he thought it was the play of two of his seniors that made the difference.

“I contribute that to Kristen and Jo getting pressure on their guards and making it difficult for them to pass the ball,” Cobbs said.

Offensively, the coach was pleased with the way his team executed against Lawrence’s zone, but said they still needed to improve their transition game.

The Rams also improved on their free throw shooting, hitting 12-of-22 from the line. That is another area in which the team had been struggling.

“We’ve been something a little different in practice,” Cobbs said of the improvement. “I think it’s starting to pay off.”

Another area of strength for the Lady Rams was a fast start. Ridgecroft scored the first eight points and 13 of the first 15 to take a double-digit lead by the 2:19 mark of the first quarter.

The strength of that offensive attack was Lilley, who had four of the first 13 points while getting help from Bryant, Victoria Brown and Cayton.

Lawrence’s only answer offensively came off the bench when Courtney Mizell hit the first two buckets for the Lady Warriors.

Lawrence’s Kendall Street and Ridgecroft’s Bardin Murray exchanged scores in the closing minute of the period to leave the Rams with a 15-6 lead.

The second period was little more than a free throw shooting contest as the teams combined for just two field goals during the entire period n both Street hoops for the Warriors.

Ridgecroft, however, converted on 8-of-15 from the charity stripe and Lawrence failed to convert their opportunity from the line as the Rams pushed their lead to 25-10.

Lilley had two quick buckets in the third quarter and then Jo Revelle Murray hit a three with 4:26 to play that put Ridgecroft up 32-13. Thanks to late period hoops by Jessica Bolton and April Piland, the Rams led 40-13 after three quarters.

Jessie Harden hit a couple of big shots for the Lady Warriors in the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t enough to get her team back into the contest.

Ridgecroft, now 8-5 overall and 3-2 in the league, will host Pungo Christian Academy tonight (Tuesday).

The Lady Warriors are 4-12 overall and 1-5 in the TIC. They will host Northeast Academy Tuesday night.

Lady Rams (51): Hayes Bryant n 18, Lauren Lilley n 12, B. Murray n 6, V. Brown n 5, J. Murray n 4, J. Bolton n 2, K. Cayton n 2, A. Piland n 2

Lady Warriors (21): Kendall Street n 12, J. Harden n 4, C. Mizell n 4, D. Stotesbury – 1