The Rockdale County girls varsity basketball picked up a big victory Saturday afternoon, defeating rival Heritage 43-21 in a cross-town showdown.

Sojourner Hall and Brianna Patton led the Lady Bulldogs in double figures in 15 points and 13 points respectively, while the Lady Patriots’ Damali Thomas paced Heritage with eight points in the loss.

Heritage went through a pair of scoring droughts lasting at least eight minutes, while turning the ball over 21 times in the opening half.

“Defense was our first and main priority heading into this game” Lady Bulldogs coach Gladys King said.

The game began with the Lady Bulldogs getting out to an 8-2 run before ending the first quarter with a 14-7 lead. 

The second quarter continued to highlight Rockdale’s offensive play, as they scored the first 11 points of the quarter, while Heritage suffered through its first scoreless streak. The Lady Bulldogs continued to penetrate the ball on offense and play great defense, carrying a 26-11 lead into halftime.

Both teams struggled to score the ball in the third quarter, but the Lady Bulldogs remained in front and carried a 33-13 lead into the fourth quarter.

In the fourth quarter, both teams exchanged baskets, but the Lady Bulldogs’ lead was too much to overcome for the Lady Patriots, as they fell by 22. 

“We’re just keeping our heads up” Lady Patriots coach Lauren Chambers said.

King said that Patton’s performance was a great show of leadership, as she also grabbed nine rebounds in the win.

 “That was great leadership by our senior and that’s why I left her out there - to lead,” King said. 

Chambers said that without a post presence, the Lady Patriots’ struggled in the paint.

“We were down a post player in this (game) so that hurt us,” Chambers said. “That’s one of the main aspects we are going to work on in practice.”