For 16 minutes, Claiborne Academy appeared to be in big trouble.

The Huntington Lady Hounds were winning the battle down low, getting to the free throw line and playing strong defense.

Then, the second half started.

In a game that was tied 30-30 at intermission, the Lady Rebels outscored Huntington 43-16 in the second half en route to a 73-46 win in the opening round of the MPSA’s South State playoffs at Huntington.

Chaise Simpson scored 28 points, the majority of which came in the second half, to lead the Lady Rebels. Carli Newell pitched in 14.

Katie Moak led Huntington with 11 points, and Donna Tarver and Phillicia Woods each scored 10 points.

The first half was a back-and-forth affair, with the Lady Hounds leading for a large chunk of the time. Lady Rebel head coach Jennifer Simpson said her team’s second half defensive switch had been the difference.

“The first half we were getting hurt down low by (Woods), so we came out in a zone for the second half and were able to shut her down,” Simpson said. “Once we did that, we started getting a lot of fast breaks and were able to hit our shots.”

Huntington head coach Penny Moak agreed with Simpson’s assessment.

“We were beating them down low in the first half,” she said. “The second half they came out in the 2-3 zone and shut off the inside, and we weren’t able to hit any of our outside shots.”

Claiborne will face the winner of tonight’s match-up between Riverdale and Trinity Episcopal.