On the first play of the second half, Lauren Dreher flashed through the midpost, took a pass, and drew a foul while driving to the basket.

Though the junior missed the free throws, the intentions of the Dreher High School girls basketball team were clear: the Blue Devils, after being dominated inside during the first half by Brookland–Cayce, were going to put up a fight for the paint.

“We had a good talk at the half,” Dreher coach Teresa Jones said not only of her team but also of her undersized post player. “I told her what I wanted, and she came out aggressively in the second half. We need her to play like that regularly.”

Dreher scored 11 second–half points, powering the Blue Devils to a 56–50 victory in Region 5–3A play on Tuesday night.

“I had to step up and help my team,” Dreher said. “When I got the ball, I had to drive to the basket and make the layups or get to the foul line.”

Dreher also contributed five offensive rebounds – nearly matching the team’s first–half total – in the second half, and contributed to the fouling out of Brookland– Cayce forwards Kayla Stinson and Kacie Silver.

The Blue Devils tried with no success to attack the interior in the first half and were outrebounded by nearly 2:1 despite matching the Bearcats’ height across the lineup.

The Bearcats, led by Silver and guard Taylor Vinson, never trailed in the first half and led by as many as eight. They led by as many as seven, 44–37, late in the third quarter.

The rest of the game belonged to Dreher, the player and the team.

“It was tough going into the locker room and looking into their faces after a tough loss like this,” Brookland–Cayce coach Tracey Adams said. “I hope they will respond to this; I hope we’ll see a different team at South Aiken on Friday.”

Vinson led the Bearcats (5–6, 1–1) with 25 points; Silver added 12 and Asia Benn finished with nine.

Shakeina Smith added 13 points for the Blue Devils (7–6, 2–0) and Tequila McNeal contributed eight.