WEST FRANKFORT — The West Frankfort Lady Redbirds built a seven-point fourth quarter lead, then hold on to beat Herrin 32-31 in the opening round of the Girls Mid-Winter Classic.
The Lady Redbirds led 17-14 at the half and 23-18 after both teams struggled to score in the third quarter.
West Frankfort extended that lead to seven on two different occasions–both on baskets by Lexi McLaren.
Herrin battled back and closed within one twice, but could never tie or take the lead. The Tigers did get the ball back down one with 1.1 seconds remaining, but had the length of the floor to go and could not get look at a potential game winner.
Earlier in the night, S-V/Waltonville edged Pinckneyville 66-64.
The girls portion of the tournament will continue Wednesday night. The boys side will tip off Tuesday night.