Barbe girls basketball head coach Trey DeGiglia is leaving an overtime loss to Southwood feeling good about the track the Lady Bucs are on, viewing the game as an affirmation of the team’s ability and a teaching tool for the remainder of the season.

The Bucs (15-5) made a late charge to force overtime, but couldn’t handle Southwood’s Jermesha Frierson in the extra frame of a 63-55 loss at Burton Coliseum. The game was part of the final day of play at the Hamilton Christian Martin Luther King Classic.

Frierson scored 34 points in the game, including the first 11 of Southwood’s 14 overtime points. She also scored 11 points in the fourth quarter, which ended with a 7-3 Barbe run, capped by a bank shot by Areil Williams with 12 seconds left to send the game into overtime tied at 49.

After each team scored twice for a 53-53 tie, Southwood (15-8) closed the game with a 10-2 run, with Frierson scoring the first seven points on a three-pointer, fast break layup and a pair of free throws.

“She’s a great player, but that is what’s fun about Class 5A, you get to play against players like that,” DiGiglia said. “Games like this show that we are there, that we can compete. Now we can go back and see what needs to be corrected.”

Southwood took a 10-point lead in the second quarter with a 15-0 run, starting on the final possession of the first quarter, a 3-point play by Frierson. Barbe responded with an 11-0 run in the third quarter to regain the lead. The Bucs held Southwood to six points in the quarter, forcing turnovers with a pressing defense.

“Ball pressure gets us going, it gets our energy up and feeds into our offense,” DiGiglia said.

Williams led Barbe with 26 points. Mikaylah Manley added 22.