BROOKHAVEN &045; The rain pounded down, only slighter faster than Trinity’s chances of a win.

Brookhaven Academy (19-1, 6-0) put on an exhibition against an overmanned Trinity (11-7, 3-3) squad, beating the Lady Saints 64-36 Friday night.

Despite the lopsided score, Trinity had many reasons to feel good after the game. Trinity head coach Melanie Hall said she had seen considerable improvement in her team over the past few weeks.

The Lady Saints beat the Brookhaven press without too much trouble, got some good offensive opportunities and went on a late-game run that at least forced the Lady Cougars to put their starters back in the game.

Five different Lady Saints scored during that run as Trinity showed its best ball movement of the game.

&uot;We let their defense dictate our offense too much in the game,&uot; Hall said. &uot;When we attacked their defense, we were fine.&uot;

Trinity’s best play came in the third and fourth quarters. The Lady Saints cut Brookhaven’s lead from a high of 30 points down to just 16.

Midway through the third quarter, it was time for the Lady Cougar backups to get some time on the court. In the final 12 minutes, the Lady Saints made up a little ground, outscoring Brookhaven 16-2 during one stretch.

&uot;I’m proud of our girls,&uot; Trinity head coach Melanie Hall said. &uot;They never give up.&uot;

Trinity played so well during that stretch that Lady Cougar coach Barry Gray was forced to bring some of his starters back into the game. He said he wasn’t happy with the way his team defended during that stretch.

&uot;I was disappointed in the way our younger girls defended there,&uot; Gray said. &uot;That bothered me. They have to get better at it.&uot;

Mallory Archer and Molly Butts did yeoman’s work for the Lady Saints bringing the ball up the court and penetrating the Lady Cougar defense to get looks for themselves and other players.

Archer appeared to tire as the game went on, though she finished with eight points in each half for 16, leading the Lady Saints in scoring.

The first half decided the outcome of the game. At halftime, Brookhaven led the game 39-13. Much of that was due to a second quarter in which the Lady Cougars outscored Trinity 20-5.

Trinity’s spurts of successful play, like a 4-0 run to open the game, were few and far between. Brookhaven didn’t appear to be dominating, except when one looked at the scoreboard and realized how large a lead the Lady Cougars were building.

&uot;This is probably one of the best offensive teams I’ve ever had,&uot; Gray said. &uot;What we’re working on is defense and our team rebounding.&uot;

Any deficiencies in those areas were largely cloaked in a game that wasn’t very close.

Trinity’s 4-2 lead in the first two minutes of play was the last the Lady Saints would have in the game.

Brookhaven went on an 11-0 run after the Lady Saints opened the game with four straight. The Lady Cougars didn’t stop there, going on a 10-2 run seconds later that continued into the second quarter.

Archer scored all of Trinity’s eight points in the first quarter, but simply couldn’t overcome the Lady Cougars’ defensive pressure and explosive scoring by herself.

Brookhaven led 19-8 after the first period, getting commanding inside play from Kristin Davidson, who had four points in the quarter, and penetrating guard play from Kelli Byrd, who scored seven.

That duo led the way for the Lady Cougars throughout the contest. Davidson had 22 points and innumerable rebounds, giving the Lady Saints fits with her size and strength down low.

&uot;(Davidson) gets it inside and she’s going to score,&uot; Hall said. &uot;We tried to front and bring a player down on the rotation. The type of player she is, she’s going to get her looks no matter what.&uot;