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By KEVIN ECKLEBERRY

Daily News

The Troup Lady Tigers were ahead at halftime of Friday’s region showdown with Shaw, but head coach Carla Thornton wasn’t entirely pleased with what she was seeing.

The Lady Tigers were on top 29-20, but Thornton wanted to see a better effort from her team in the second half.

That message, it turns out, resonated loud and clear.

The Lady Tigers (9-4 overall) put 27 points on the board in the third quarter to turn a close game into a blowout, and they won 77-37 to improve to 5-0 in Region 2-AAAA.

“We were dead in the first half,” Thornton said. “We asked them to pick it up in the second half, and I think we did.”

Freshman Angie Dowdell helped spur the second-half effort by scoring 11 of her team-leading 16 points.

On a veteran team filled with talented players who helped Troup reach the state-championship game last season, Dowdell has stepped in and held her own.

“We knew she was a player, it’s just having that confidence on the varsity level coming from middle school,” Thornton said. “We let her know we’re depending on her to be that same player. We know what she’s capable of. She has that skill set. We’re happy to see her have a real good game.”

Jada Green added 15 points, including nine points during the decisive third quarter, and Alexcia Murphy scored 13 points.

Aniya Palmer, Darnesheyuna McCullough and Samarria Weldon added eight points apiece for Troup, and nine members of the team scored.

With Troup leading by nine, Weldon completed a three-point play with 7:09 left in the third quarter to push the lead to 32-20, and the rout was on.

By the time Dowdell scored with 2:40 to play in the third quarter, Troup was ahead 47-22.

Shaw went on a 5-0 run to get within 20, but Green knocked down a 3-pointer to start a 7-0 run to end the third quarter, giving Troup a 54-29 cushion. The Lady Tigers continued to pull away in the fourth quarter, and they ended up winning by 40 points.