PINETOWN — Even though Friday’s senior-night game between Northside and Southside was a game of runs, countless whistles made it tough for either team to get into much of a groove. The Lady Seahawks were able to hit their stride late in the third quarter, propelling them to a 55-43 win.

The victory, which spoiled the last regular-season game for the Lady Panthers, put Southside above .500 and evened its 1-A Coastal Plains Conference record at 6-6.

The Lady Seahawks were down 34-24 as the end of the third neared. A 3-pointer from Precious Gaynor sparked a 28-3 run that doubled their scoring output and gave them a commanding 48-37 lead.

“First off, I told them I wanted them to tie or take the lead going into the fourth quarter. I told them to go ahead and put everything they had into it,” Southside coach Milton Ruffin said. His squad pulled within one by the end of the third. “They went out there, played hard and got the job done. “

Southside made a dozen free throws in the fourth quarter alone. Not only did it help the visitors add onto their lead, but foul trouble also handcuffed Northside. The Lady Panthers had five players foul out.

“That’s when I had to put girls that have less experience on the floor,” Northside coach Michelle Leathers said. “They were playing hard, but the ones with more experience are the ones you expect to perform. You just don’t know what you can do. It changed the whole game.”

The visitors had a pair foul out, too.

Southside took a 7-5 lead early on after the two sides traded treys. Gabby Slade turned a steal into a layup that not only tied the game at seven apiece with 3:10 left in the opening period, but also ignited an 11-0 surge by the Lady Panthers. Abby Mooring scored the last seven points of the first, giving Northside a 16-7 lead after eight minutes.

“They need to go out there, play ball and stay focused. We didn’t do that in the first half,” Ruffin said. “… Think about the game of basketball and what you’re supposed to do, and you’ll come out all right. That’s exactly what happened.”

Three technical fouls were called in the second quarter. Southside used trips to the charity stripe, coupled with a 3-pointer from Gaynor, to score eight in a row to trim the deficit to one, 16-15.

The Lady Panthers responded, thanks in part to a tech against Southside, to take a 25-18 advantage into halftime.

As Northside found itself trailing in the fourth and the fouls continued to pile up, Southside’s defense was able to keep the hosts from stringing together more than three points at a time.

“I thought we had a rhythm, but if a team shoots 23 free throws in the fourth quarter, how can you find a rhythm,” Leathers asked. “You can’t find a rhythm that way. It’s frustrating. It’s frustrating as a player and it’s frustrating as a coach.”

Winning in hostile tournament gives Southside momentum heading into its CPC tournament matchup. The first round will feature a rematch between the Lady Seahawks and Lady Panthers.