BENSON - Through three quarters of action, it appeared as though the second girls basketball installment between Garner and West Johnston would come down to the final possession. That was until the Trojans exploded in the final quarter for a 51-39 win over the Wildcats.

Garner opened the fourth quarter with an 18-4 run spurred on by second-chance points and with the aid of 10 West Johnston turnovers. The Trojans topped their scoring output over the first three quarters combined (25) with 26 fourth-quarter points to extend what had been a slight three-point advantage to as much as 22 points in the final quarter.

For much of the first three quarters, Garner was able to work the ball well enough to find open shooters but more often than not, those shooters were unable to take advantage.

As is often the case, the Trojans turned to their defense to spark the offense in the fourth quarter with far more success.

"The fourth quarter, I think they started to feel themselves defensively," said Garner coach Hardwick Mays of his young team. "If we can stop people, we're in the ball game. I think we're starting to adapt to our offense and our defense."

West Johnston didn't recover until it was too late as the turnovers started to mount, as did the fast break points for the Trojans. Garner's full-court pressure and traps were most effective, as the Wildcats were unable to locate the open player.

The Wildcats were able to stay close to the Trojans for most of the game, in part, because of many successful trips to the charity stripe. West was 17-22 from the foul line.

The story was a bit different from the field, however, as West Johnston had a difficult time scoring the ball from its half-court offensive set.

"Knocking down shots is something we'll have to work on," said West Johnston coach Bill Pepicello. "Give them credit, Garner came out at us all night long and played us real hard but until we can knock down an open jumper, we're going to struggle."

Garner (4-9 overall, 2-5 in conference) was paced by Jaya Johnson's 11 points and eight rebounds as well as Serena Watson's nine points and five-rebound effort.

Jessica Parker led the Wildcats (6-8, 1-6) with 11 points while Katalin Gavitt contributed nine points.

"Tonight is the beginning of a new season," added Mays, who looks to build some momentum over the final stretch run of the season."

West Johnston hosts East Wake on Friday night.