WOODVILLE &045; You might not think blaming a 14-point loss &045; when you were once down by more &045; on officiating is justifiable, but Wilkinson County head coach Edwin White had a good gripe Friday.

But at least the zebras were consistent.

Down by as much as nine at one point, Jefferson County exploded in the second half for 48 points en route to a 76-62 punishing victory.

&uot;We had a chance to win the game and then the refs started dictating the game,&uot; White said. &uot;It’s not fair to the kids. It’s bad when you can’t get any calls on you own court.&uot;

Jefferson (9-4, 3-1) was led by Shaterrica Hall, who had 30 points, including 11 in the final quarter. Trailing 30-21 late in the second period, Jefferson County used a 7-0 run to cut its halftime deficit to a bucket.

The Lady Wildcats pushed their lead back up to five in the third before Jefferson County used a 16-3 push to vault ahead and never look back.

&uot;We knew we could do it, it was just a matter of us stepping up,&uot; Hall said. &uot;We hustled and did more blocking out for rebounds.&uot;

Both coaches liked the resolves each coaches’ team showed after getting behind.

Lady Tigers head coach Flora McKnight focused on the patience her squad showed when it got down.

&uot;We started to reverse the ball and that really got us going,&uot; McKnight said. &uot;We weren’t running our offense in the first half. When we did that, their defense started to shift and the middle opened up wide for us.&uot;

Latasha Williams led Wilkinson with 22 points, as the Lady Wildcats had three players score in double figures.

&uot;I think (Jefferson) is overrated. They’re driving on their past success,&uot; White said. &uot;I’m confident about my team, though. We have a couple players out (grades), but once we start to gel it’ll be all right.&uot;