The Greenwood girls’ basketball team didn’t seem itself early Wednesday night.

But the Lady Gators eventually showed their familiar pressure and balance.

Greenwood (11-2) used a 17-5 run in the second quarter to build a lead on Edmonson County, then widened the gap for a 59-45 win on the second day of pool play in the Holiday Classic at GHS.

“They did a good job of keeping us off balance,” Greenwood coach Todd Tolbert said. “We didn’t get good, open looks. Usually we’re more efficient at picking out open people, but credit Edmonson.”

Senior forward Molly Lamb, who’s scored more than 20 points in 10 games so far this season, was limited to two points in the first quarter. Lamb eventually gained steam to lead Greenwood with 15 points, while three others finished in double figures scoring.

“We still got some performances that we needed to have,” Tolbert said. “We have other people that can score, and it’s probably going to be a theme for the rest of the season. As long as people hit easy shots that they should, we’ll be fine.”

Freshman forward MacKenzie Pettus had 14 points, while senior forward Raven Perks and eighth-grade guard Alexis Dean each had 10. Perks also grabbed 12 rebounds.

“We played OK, but we didn’t get back on defense at times,” Perks said. “We didn’t rebound or score the way we needed to during that stretch. I should have worked harder to score, too. But we kept our hearts in it on defense to finish the game out.”

The Lady Gators made 5 of 19 shots in the first quarter and fell behind 15-14 with 4:44 to go in the second after a jumper by Edmonson County senior forward Taylor Miller.

But Lamb scored four straight points on free throws, then assisted Perks on back-to-back baskets as Greenwood soared to a 32-20 lead right before halftime. Sophomore guard Madison Rich pulled Edmonson County (3-6) within 10 at the break with a layup at the buzzer.

The Lady Wildcats had 10 of their 28 turnovers in the second quarter.

“Early on, we were shooting better and playing good defense,” Rich said. “We played hard. We could have done better in the second half, but we did the best we could.

“Their press really got us. We’ve got to handle it better and limit our turnovers.”

The Lady Gators led by as many as 18 in the fourth quarter after consecutive baskets by Pettus. Greenwood outrebounded the Lady Wildcats 43-30.

“A lot of times, all you have to do is get the shot up there and good things happen,” Tolbert said. “Some of those shots might not be what we work on in practice, but you throw a shot up there, and they go in or you make a play.”

Lamb and Dean both added eight rebounds to their scoring. Junior guard Angela Adkins finished with nine points.

Miller paced Edmonson County with 12 points, while Rich finished with nine points and eight rebounds.

Greenwood finishes pool play at 8 p.m. tonight against District 14 rival South Warren. Edmonson County meets Clinton County at 3 p.m.

ECHS – 9 13 11 12 – 45

GHS – 12 20 18 9 – 59

ECHS – Miller 12, Rich 9, Glenn 9, Clemmons 4, Kinser 4, Carnes 3, Lindsey 2, Ryan 2.

GHS – Lamb 15, Pettus 12, Dean 10, Perks 10, Adkins 9, Krislof 2, Jordan 1.

Franklin-Simpson 40, Butler County 26

The Lady Wildcats (7-4) led Butler County by 18 at halftime at the Greenwood Holiday Classic.

That’s when Franklin-Simpson relaxed and drew coach Josh Matthews’ ire.

Butler County (2-6) outscored the Lady Wildcats by one in the third quarter and came as close as 11 before falling 40-26.

“We play a pretty good first half and get up on somebody, and then we just let off the gas and try to coast in,” Matthews said. “It’s almost cost us games before, and it almost cost us a game here. Butler County continued to fight, and our attitude was bad. We’ve fought that and some selfishness all year.”

Franklin-Simpson shot 50 percent in the first half and forced Butler County into 24 turnovers in the game, but didn’t score in the fourth quarter until the 2:58 mark.

The Lady Wildcats had seven turnovers in the fourth quarter, the same amount they had in the whole first half.

“For 16 minutes, we pretty much had our heads down,” Matthews said. “We miss a few shots, and we’re immature enough that if things aren’t just perfect, we can’t really fight through anything.”

Junior guard Tasia Covington was enough to carry Franklin-Simpson, totaling 17 points and eight rebounds off the bench.

“I tried to give them the spark we needed,” Covington said. “I wanted to do whatever I could. We need to pick up our heads and have better attitudes. We can’t lose the intensity that we have early.”

That strong start gave Franklin-Simpson a 16-6 lead after the first quarter and a 29-11 advantage at halftime. The Lady Wildcats scored 11 points in the second half, but Butler County continued to struggle with turnovers.

“The flip side is that it’s good to play really bad and win,” Matthews said. “We’re very young, and hopefully we keep preaching it and they’ll figure it out. If we don’t, we’ll never get any better.”

Sophomore forward Sydney Gooch added six points and six rebounds for Franklin-Simpson. Sophomore forward Katie Graham led Butler County with eight points and 10 rebounds.

Butler County continues play at GHS at 4:30 p.m. today against Caverna. Franklin-Simpson takes on Warren East at 6:30 p.m.

FSHS – 16 13 7 4 – 40

BCHS – 6 5 8 7 – 26

FSHS – Covington 17, Brooks 7, Gooch 6, Frantz 6, Curtis 2, Reetzke 2.

BCHS – Graham 8, Drake 6, West 5, Turner 5, Easley 2.