MERRY HILL – Ridgecroft put together an 8-0 run midway through the second quarter and went on to grab a 41-22 Tarheel Independent Conference basketball victory over Lawrence Academy here Friday night.

With the Lady Warriors holding a 7-6 advantage following consecutive Jodi White hoops, the Lady Rams battled back to take the lead for good.

Hayes Bryant started the run with a hoop just under the five-minute mark. Jo Revelle Murray, Landis Joyner and Sarah Beth Greene then followed with buckets to give Ridgecroft a 14-7 advantage.

After White and Bryant exchanged hoops, Lawrence senior Catherine Outten hit 1-of-2 from the line to trim the Lady Warrior deficit to 16-10 at the intermission.

The third quarter was lights-out for the Rams as they outscored Lawrence 14-3 to grab a secure lead.

Following a Jessica Misse free throw, Bryant and Greene hit back-to-back buckets to give Ridgecroft a 21-10 advantage.

Outten stopped the spurt with a hoop and a shot from the charity stripe to trim the deficit to 21-13, but that was as close as Lawrence would get.

Brittany Taylor and Greene had consecutive hoops inside the three-minute mark before Bryant scored the final two baskets of the third quarter to give Ridgecroft a commanding 30-13 lead.

Consecutive hoops from Stephanie Northcott and Kristen Cayton to start the fourth quarter pushed the Lady Rams to a 34-13 lead before Molly Harden and Jessica Johnston sandwiched hoops around a Bryant bucket to get Lawrence to within 36-17.

The lead was trimmed to 16 (37-21) following four free throws from White, but back-to-back hoops from Greene sealed the Ridgecroft victory.

The win boosted the Lady Rams to 5-1 overall and 2-0 inside the TIC wars while Lawrence dropped to 0-8 and 0-1.

Bryant (14) and Greene (10) led the way for the Lady Rams while Lawrence was paced by White’s dozen points.

Lawrence will host Rocky Mount in Merry Hill tonight while the Lady Rams will be off until they travel to Northeast Academy to participate in the Greater Lasker Shootout.

Lady Rams (41): Hayes Bryant – 14, Sarah Beth Greene – 10, L. Joyner – 4, S. Northcott – 4, J. Misse – 3, B. Taylor – 2, J. Murray – 2, K. Cayton – 2

Lady Warriors (22): Jodi White – 12, C. Outten – 4, J. Johnston – 4, M. Harden – 2