ASHLAND - The No. 4 seed Fulton Lady Hornets turned back the No. 5 Hallsville Lady Indians 44-40 in the first round of the Southern Boone Classic on Monday night.
Fulton (11-5) fell behind 12-10 after the first quarter and trailed 25-21 at halftime. The Lady Hornets outscored Hallsville 16-7 in the third quarter to take a 37-32 lead.
"We started out sluggish; I thought we were playing in slow motion in the first quarter," Fulton head coach TJ Quick said. "We started to press in the third quarter, created some turnovers and were able to get some easy buckets and turn the momentum in our favor."
Senior guard Sloane Totta paced the Lady Hornets with a game-high 17 points and five assists, while senior guard Rachel Gusé tallied 15 points and five assists. Junior guard Dionne Vaughn recorded seven steals.
Brooke Alley led Hallsville with 15 points and Hannah Ricketts added 10.
Fulton plays No. 1 seed Southern Boone in the semifinals at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the high school gym.