Behind perhaps their most complete performance of the season, the No. 9 Brownwood Lady Lions extended their win streak to 15 games, moved 20 games over the .500 mark, and – most importantly – kept their unblemished District 6-4A record intact with a 52-30 home triumph over the Stephenville Honeybees Saturday at Warren Gym.

“What a game by my team, I couldn’t be more proud,” said Lady Lions 17th-year head coach Heather Hohertz. “My kids showed up, they were on a mission, and it obviously showed in our play today.”

The Lady Lions (23-3, 3-0) drained a season-best 55 percent (21 of 38) of their field goal attempts, including 40 percent (6 of 15) of their three-pointers, and committed just 11 turnovers.

Icess Hall and Trinity Roberts led the attack with 14 points apiece trailed by six apiece from Nylah Hall and Jaidyn Hope, five by Hannah Deen, four by Jade Morin and three points by Jentry Coalson.

Stephenville (16-9, 1-2) received nine points from Brinley Hall, six each from Brooklyn Hardin and Iza Vandalsem, five from Taylor Berry, three from Blake Tidwell and one point from Audrey McClendon.

Four three-pointers in the opening quarter by the Honeybees resulted in a 12-all tie after one period, but the Lady Lions finished the first half on a 13-2 run that led to a 29-16 halftime advantage.

“We talked after the first quarter about playing our type of basketball,” Hohertz said. “Take what they give you and let’s go. We went to a high ball screen and I thought that was an advantage for Icess, they couldn’t really stay in front of her so she was getting to the basket. So then you have to choose if you’re going to stop the ball or get out on Trin. We made really good decisions on that and it really opened the game up.”

The Lady Lions’ game-changing run occurred with the season’s leading scorer, Nylah Hall, on the bench for a significant portion after logging her third foul with 1:05 left in the opening quarter.

“Jaidyn came off the bench and had a big second quarter for us,” Hohertz said. “She scored a couple of layups, and our defense and rebounding went really well when I brought Nylah out with her third foul. It’s not about one person on this team, it’s about who can positively impact this team and it doesn’t matter who it is.”

Leading 16-14 at the 4:23 mark on the second period, a simple free throw by Icess Hall triggered the decisive run. Roberts followed with a short jumper in the paint, then Nylah Hall returned and knocked a three-pointer as the Lady Lions suddenly owned a 22-14 advantage with 2:41 left before intermission.

A jumper from Vandalsem allowed Stephenville to slow the surge temporarily, but buckets by Hope and Icess Hall, then a deep three-ball from Roberts with three seconds left in the half, permitted Brownwood to open its 13-point advantage at the break 29-16.

Stephenville opened the second half with a three-pointer by Brinley Hall, but Brownwood responded with back-to-back treys from Icess Hall and Roberts to extend the cushion to 35-19 at the 5:22 mark of the third period.

Leading 41-24 after three periods, the Lady Lions went on an 11-2 spurt to start the fourth quarter as a driving bucket from Deen with 3:48 remaining gave Brownwood its largest lead of 26 points, 52-26.

Saturday’s contest was pushed back a day due to a state cheer conflict, but the Lady Lions appeared unaffected by the change in schedule.

“I told them control what you can control and play to your potential and you’re going to like the outcome, and that’s what did,” Hohertz said. “This team has faced a lot of adversity this year and they keep finding a way, and that just shows their true character and the kind of competitors they are.”

The Lady Lions are back in action at 5:45 p.m. Tuesday as they visit Graham (8-16, 0-3), then wrap up the first half of the District 6-4A slate at home at 5:45 p.m. Friday against No. 3 Brock (20-5, 3-0).

“I tell them put yourself in a position to win, don’t let teams beat you by showing up and going through the motions, and they’ve responded to that,” Hohertz said. “Graham plays hard and changes up their defenses a lot, so whatever it is we have to be ready for it and be focused if we want to have that showdown Friday night.”