After going toe-to-toe with the Lady Rebels for most of the game, Hampton dropped its first conference matchup 71-59 Tuesday night inside of Hampton High School.

“We had it down to four and was playing well,” Hampton head coach, Bud Hazelwood said. “I think the biggest difference was rebounding. We could not keep No. 32 (Taylor Lamb) off the boards.”

After being down 5-0 in the early minutes of the first quarter, two treys from Alexus Grubbs and and Shyanne Tuelle helped the Lady Bulldogs push out to a 19-16 lead at the end of the first frame.

Grubbs led the ‘Dogs and the game in points as she ended the night with 22. Tuelle ended the night right behind Grubbs with 15.

“We shot the ball well,” Hazelwood said. “We moved the ball well and got some good shots.”

In the second quarter, Hampton’s leads quickly diminished as Lamb tied the game up with a bucket and a foul shot. The Rebels outscored the Lady Bulldogs 21 to 11 in the second period, closing the half with South Greene up 38-30.

Lamb led the Rebels in points with 20. She was followed up by her teammate Lyndsey Cutshaw, who had 13 points, nine of which came from three pointers.

“She is a player, and she almost single handedly beat us,” Hazelwood said about Lamb. “They have more than her, but she is a player.”

The third period would see Hampton work its way to within one point of the Lady Rebels, with Grubbs sinking a bucket and a foul shot to put the score at 46-45. However, a technical foul on Hampton’s bench allowed Lamb to extended the lead with two free throws. The third ended with South Greene up 52-48.

The Lady Rebels dominated the fourth period as they outscored Hampton 19-9, ending the game ahead 71-59.

Hampton was without its senior starter Kim Swearingen, who is out for the week due to a concussion.

South Greene out rebounded Hampton through out the game, but specifically in the fourth quarter, allowing them to push their way to a victory.

“On the night we had eight more rebounds than them,” South Greene coach Steven Gregg said. “It seemed like they were big ones in the fourth quarter. They were timely rebounds.”

Coach Gregg said it is always great to leave Hampton with a win.

“It is always a victory to come up here and win in Carter County,” he said. “It’s nice to win a conference game on the road. Carter County teams will  play with you to the final second night in and night out. Hampton was without a starter to night, and they did not really show it. They gave us a game all night long. They shot extremely well. I think they shot 68 percent by our stats. And, you know, you are not supposed to win on somebody’s home floor when they shoot like that.”

South Greene  71

Lamb 20, Cutshaw 13, WIlliams 12, A. Wykle 11, Crum 10,  K Wykle 5.

Hampton 59

Grubbs 22, Tuelle 15, Garland 7, Street 6, Bridgeman 5, Wier 4.

South Greene 17 21 14 19 — 71

Hampton 19 11 18 9 — 59

3-point goal— South Greene 8 ( Cutshaw 3, A. Wykle 2, Crum 2, K. Wykle 1) Hampton 6 ( Tuelle 3, Grubbs 2, Bridgeman 1)