After being battle-tested tpo start the season, the Franklin-Simpson girls’ basketball team was able to put those early bumps and bruises to work — slipping past previously unbeaten Barren County 49-47 in the championship game of the Firstbank Holiday Bash at South Warren High School on Monday.

Franklin-Simpson used a strong third quarter to gain momentum and held off a fourth-quarter rally with two Kloie Smith free throws with 15 seconds left, clinching the win against the No. 1 team in the latest Daily News Area Top 10.

“That’s a great basketball team,” Franklin-Simpson coach Ashley Taylor said. “I think they are solid from top to bottom. I think their bench is solid. (Barren County coach Piper Lindsey) does a really good job over there. I told our kids that these are high-level games. I think over the last two weeks we have learned to play in high-level games. That’s kind of helped us. We are starting to get some experience under our belt and you are starting to see everybody is getting comfortable with each other.”

Barren County (11-1) got off to a strong start, using an 14-0 run to build a 16-5 advantage early in the second quarter. Shelby Byrd scored seven straight points for the Trojanettes to help Barren County maintain a 26-15 lead before Franklin-Simpson scored the final six points to cut the deficit to five at halftime.

The run continued with Franklin-Simpson (8-3) scoring the first five points to pull even in the first minute of the third quarter. Byrd scored to help Barren County briefly regain the lead before Franklin hit three straight 3-pointers to push ahead 35-28.

The advantage grew to 38-29 on a 3 from McKenzie Taylor. The Lady Cats finished 5-for-7 from 3 in the quarter — holding a 41-36 advantage heading into the fourth.

“The way teams are guarding (leading scorer Allye Pennington), that is your goal,” Taylor said. “How are you going to stop her? Our role players know that, so they are having to make shots. You have to be able to make shots. We told them to shoot with confidence. I didn’t think they shot them early when they should have. We just talked to them about that and I think they came out and shot it confidently after that.”

Franklin-Simpson led by as many as eight points in the fourth before Barren County made a run. Four straight points by the Trojanettes trimmed the deficit in half. After a layup by Smith made the score 47-41, Barren County scored six straight — tying the score on a bucket by Byrd with 35 seconds left.

Smith got the lead back for the Lady Cats, hitting two free throws with 15.5 seconds left.

“I always work on free throws, so I am good in pressure moments,” Smith said. “I really just think those are free shots. That’s easy points and you should make it.”

Barren County had a chance to tie, but a tie-up gave the ball back to Franklin-Simpson. After the Lady Cats missed two free throws, a desperation heave at the horn from near midcourt came up short giving Franklin-Simpson its second win over a previously unbeaten team in three days.

Pennington led the Lady Cats with 20 points, while Smith added 13 points and nine rebounds — scoring six of the team’s eight points in the fourth quarter.

“It puts a little pressure off me when my guards start hitting 3s because it makes (the defense) go out,” Smith said. “It leaves me open and have more room to work.”

Byrd led the Trojanettes with 23 points. Barren County shot 34% from the field, including 3-for-18 from 3-point range.

“We wanted to get the ball out of (Pennington’s) hands so the other ones, it would be in their hands,” Lindsey said. “It just so happened they made shots and we didn’t. We didn’t make shots like we have been making them, but I will tell the girls to keep shooting. Addyson McFall had some really great looks in the corner that she typically knocks down that we want her to keep shooting. We just have to do a better job of doing what we do well.”

Barren County will host Warren East in a District 15 matchup at 6 p.m. on Friday. Franklin-Simpson will face Allen County-Scottsville in the Class 2A sectionals at 6 p.m. on Saturday at Glasgow.

BCHS 12 14 10 11 — 47

FSHS 5 16 20 8 — 49

BC — Byrd 23, Burton 5, McFall 5, Bragg 4, Slagle 4, Atkinson 4, Wilson 2.

FS — Pennington 20, Smith 13, Riggsbee 7, Taylor 6, Dean 3.