PG girls defeat L-E Leopards, 44-37,

TEXARKANA, Texas — It was a contrast of halves.

Pleasant Grove outscored Liberty-Eylau, 44-37, in the second half and won the cross-town rivalry, 65-52, in a District 15-4A girls varsity basketball game at Hawk Gym on Friday.

After scoring just 19 points in the first half, the Lady Hawks (23-4, 6-0) got 14 points in the third quarter from Keshawn Davis and 12 points from Miaya Ware in the fourth quarter.

Davis had a double-double with 19 points and 15 rebounds, and teammate Ware also had a double-double with 16 points and 11 boards.

Janiya Sanders poured in a team-high 15 points for the Lady Leopards on her way to a double-double. Eliyah Howard had a team-high 15 points for L-E.

Pleasant Grove shot 47 percent from the field on 26-of-55 shooting, while Liberty-Eylau (16-10, 4-2) shot 31 percent on 19-of-62 shooting.

Turnovers were a main factor in the first half. The Hawks turned the ball over 13 times, while the Leopards had 16.

Pleasant Grove went on a 10-0 run midway through the third quarter to build a 33-17 lead.

Trailing by 13 points to start the third, L-E went on a 7-0 spurt to inch closer, 40-34.

The Hawks put the game away with an 8-0 spurt late in the fourth quarter.

Shooting accuracy played a big role in the first half. Pleasant Grove hit on 7 of 26 shots (26 percent) in the first half, while LibertyEylau sunk 5 of 29 shots (17 percent).

Pleasant Grove slightly out-rebounded the Leopards, 42-39.

The Leopards and Hawks each committed nine turnovers in the first half.

Ware had four points in the first quarter to pace

Pleasant Grove.

Down 10-5, Meadows sunk a jumper for L-E to make it 10-7. Eliyah Howard knocked down a trey at the buzzer to knot the score at 10-all after the first quarter.

Neither team was able to generate many points in the second quarter. Both teams played tight defense.

Pleasant Grove outscored Liberty-Eylau, 8-1, in the final six minutes of the second quarter to take a 4-point lead into halftime, 19-14.

Shanequa Henry finished with 16 points for the Hawks.

Kayla Crabtree ripped the nets for 12 points for the Leopards.

Staff photo by Hunt Mercier ■ Lady Hawks’ Miaya Ware jumps up to shoot the ball into the Lady Leopards’ basket at Hawks Gym on Friday in Texarkana, Texas.