Sabine’s Haley Stuart Leads Late Run that Downs Harleton in the Tenaha Holiday Hoops Scholarship Classic

CARTHAGE -- Haley Stuart made her presence felt the entire game, but came up especially big in the final minute.

Sabine's senior post scored late on back-to-back possessions, the second of which came on a layup off a steal for the go-ahead basket in a 33-31 Sabine victory over Harleton on Thursday afternoon at Panola College in the Tenaha Holiday Hoops Scholarship Classic.

Stuart had game highs with 12 points and 21 rebounds to lead the win, which pushed the Lady Cardinals to 5-9 on the season.

Sabine fell behind 31-25 with 4:00 remaining, but held Harleton scoreless the rest of the game to close the contest on an 8-0 run. Stuart pulled Sabine within one point with less than 40 seconds to play, then stole the ball seconds later and cruised in for a layup and 32-31 lead for what to proved to be the game-winning bucket with 26 seconds left.

Stuart then got her own rebound on a missed free throw with nine seconds remaining, allowing the Lady Cards to retain possession. Senior guard Brittany Terry then split free throws for the two-point victory margin. Sabine outscored Harleton 11-5 in the fourth for the comeback victory.

Harleton junior guard Taylor Pyland hit three three-pointer to lead the Lady Cats (7-6) with 11 points, while senior guard Hayley Hunter came back from a third-quarter ankle injury to finish with nine points and six rebounds. Senior guard Kaylee Knowlton had four points and a team-high seven rebounds.

Sabine sophomore Jayden Mount complemented Stuart's big performance with nine points and three rebounds. Mount hit all five of her free-throw attempts.

Stuart's huge rebounding effort fueled Sabine's 44-23 edge on the glass.

Sabine led 7-4 after one quarter and 15-12 at halftime. Harleton doubled up the Lady Cardinals in the third to take a 26-22 advantage to the fourth quarter.

NOTE: Sabine was scheduled to play again at 9:15 p.m. Thursday at Tenaha's Special Events Center. Harleton plays Broaddus, which lost Thursday to Tenaha, at 9 a.m. Friday in Gary.