The Pillow Academy Lady Mustangs felt like they had something to prove.
After losing by four at top-ranked Madison-Ridgeland Academy earlier in the season, the Lady Mustangs showed they are as good as any private school team in the state with a hard-fought 48-46 victory over MRA Tuesday night at Pillow.
Senior Holly Ann Pannell scored her team's final seven points to help PA pull it out as she finished with a game-high 20 points.
Pillow, ranked No. 4 in the statewide academy AAA poll, improves to 15-5 overall, 6-0 in the North AAA Division II standings.
PA senior Kaitlin McDaniel hit a layup at the buzzer to put her team up 36-34 heading into the fourth period.
Pannell opened the fourth with a 3-pointer. MRA led just one time in the final eight minutes, going up 46-45 with 2:10 to play on a 3-pointer from Marye Will Mitchell.
But Pannell answered with her own 3-pointer a minute later to provide the eventual game-winning basket.
MRA's Anna Henderson rimmed out a jump shot in the lane with five seconds left that would have tied things up.
"I am real proud of how our girls finished. They made some plays down the stretch and did a great job of boxing out," PA coach Durwin Carpenter said. "Our girls played extremely hard. This gives them the confidence they can play with anyone."
Henderson paced MRA (17-5, 4-1) with 14 points.
Pannell had seven rebounds and three steals to go with her 20 points.
Qua' Niya Head added 10 points, eight rebounds and a team-high five steals. Devin Mitchell matched Head with a team-high eight boards.
McDaniel finished with seven points.
The Lady Mustangs led 13-9 at the end of the first period, led by as many as three in the second before going to the half tied at 20.
In junior high action, the PA girls lost 38-36 in overtime to fall to 8-7.
Merritt Belk led the charge for Pillow with another double-double, pouring in 10 points and pulling down 12 rebounds.
Kaity Box had seven points and 10 rebounds, while Kathleen Gallagher added seven points.
• BOYS: Things didn't go as well for the Mustangs against the top-ranked Patriots as they lost 69-52.
Pillow, however, did hang tough for a little more than a half before MRA took over with its hot perimeter shooting and strong inside presence with 6-foot-6, 275-pound senior center Justin Malone roaming the paint.
The Mustangs led by as many as six in the first period and was up 17-15 heading into the second.
MRA scored the first seven points of the second period, with Malone getting four of his game-high 23 points during that span. The Patriots, the four-time defending MAIS Overall Tournament champs, never trailed again and soon took total control of the game.
The Patriots (14-9, 5-0) led 34-26 at the half and 55-38 at the end of the third.
Ja'Quez Taylor paced Pillow (9-9, 4-2) with 19 points. Gaston Lyon was next with 14.
In junior high action, Pillow stunned MRA with a wild comeback to force overtime, where PA outscored the visitors 9-0 for a 61-52 victory.
The junior Mustangs improve to 9-4 overall, 6-1.
Tyler McKay led the way with 18 points, followed by Maury Sykes with 16 and Steve Pannell with 10.
Pillow plays at Columbus Heritage Friday night.
• Contact Bill Burrus at bburrus@gwcommonwealth.com.
