J.R. Walker challenges Brookwood’s height. He scored 8 for the Panthers on the night.

CHULA — Tiftarea Academy’s Lady Panthers won their second District 3-AAA game Friday, upsetting Brookwood, 48-39 behind 14 points from Lexi Connell. The Panthers found Brookwood’s length too much in 63-51 loss.

Despite the defeat, Friday was a special night for the Panthers. Ben Smith scored the 1,000th point of his career and the game was stopped to celebrate him at midcourt.

The Lady Panthers were hot from the start, outscoring Brookwood 17-7 in the 1st period. Tiftarea opened with three straight triples, two by Isabel Fernandez and one from AMelia Mercer. Twice, they led by as much as 13 in the period, on jumpers by Elaine Mercer and Kate Phillips.

Connell started doing damage in the 2nd frame, knocking down three jump shots. Connell and Hannah Grace Murphy took turns in giving Tiftarea’s its biggest leads of the night — 15 points — at 25-10 and 27-12.

Brookwood figured out a rhythm in the 2nd half, but could only come as close as six points (37-31) early in the 4th. Connell came to the rescue with another jumper, then Elaine Mercer pushed the lead back up to double figures with a 3-pointer. Elaine Mercer added another dagger from behind the arc in the closing seconds.

Beyond Connell’s 14, Elaine Mercer scored 8 and Murphy notched 7 points.

Smith, who along with brother, Elijah, moved in over the summer made the big accomplishment in the 1st quarter on a 3-pointer. His family joined him for quick recognition and the game ball was given to head coach Rob Flick for safekeeping.

However, Brookwood was in command for most of the game. Their height put a stop to most Tiftarea efforts in the paint, but J.R. Walker was able to find gold on a few occasions.

The Warriors were up 32-17 at the half, 51-31 after three quarters.

Tiftarea did give the visitors a bit of a scare in the 4th, trimming half the margin. Smith scored 12 of their 20 in the 4th.

Ben Smith finished the game with 24 points. Elijah Smith netted 9 points, with Walker at 8.