The Thorsby varsity girls basketball team picked up a hard fought 35-28 victory at home over Jemison on Jan. 29.

Scoring had been a struggle for both teams at points in the season, but not in the first couple of minutes of the game, when three-pointers were traded between the teams.

The Rebels were able to keep up the early pace and led 14-7 at the end of the first quarter.

The game settled into a rhythm and Thorsby’s high-scoring first quarter proved to be the difference in an otherwise evenly matched game.

“We’re very young, but they give me effort and play good defense,” Thorsby head coach Kris Wood said. “Our girls get at it, and I’m very proud of this great group of young ladies.”

The majority of Jemison’s offense, as it has for much of the season, filtered through the pairing of senior Karmen Mims and freshman Ashlee Hilyer.

Hilyer scored a game-high 12 points, with Mims following closely behind with 11 points.

Carlee Wyatt led Thorsby with eight points, while Hannah Smith, Emily Jones and Lauren Reeser each contributed six points.

“I thought our guard play was exceptional tonight,” Wood said. “Jemison played us man-to-man the whole game and Hannah Smith and Carlee Wyatt handled the pressure.”

With the win, Thorsby has won three out of its last five games and have been playing a better basketball in recent weeks.

“We want to try to finish strong and go into the area [tournament] looking to extend our season,” Wood said.