There’s good defense, there’s great defense, and then there’s the kind of defense the Demopolis girls played against Thomasville Friday night.

The Lady Tigers evened the season series with their Clarke County rivals at a game apiece with a 35-27 home victory in which every shot was contested and every basket critical. Demopolis held Thomasville to 21 points fewer than their opponents’ total in the teams’ first meeting, a 48-42 Thomasville win Dec. 9.

The visitors actually closed the game on something of an offensive spurt, scoring 11 points over the final 11 minutes after only notching 16 in the game’s first 21. After trailing by 11 late in the third quarter, Thomasville cut the lead to seven at 29-22 with 6:35 left in the game.

But Demopolis answered quickly, getting baskets from Jasmine Simmons and Katerria Johnson to restore the lead to double-digits less than a minute later. The Lady Tigers then held Thomasville to two points over the next five minutes, sealing the victory.

As expected, senior guard Shawnese Armstead played a key role in the win, leading the Lady Tigers with 14 points and adding 9 steals and 6 rebounds. Johnson added 6 rebounds to tie for the team lead while adding 6 points.

Armstead and Johnson were followed by Simmons with 5 points, Kelli Johnson and Krystal Walker with 4 each, and Kierra Plaskett with 2.

With the win, Demopolis improves to 7-3 on the season. The Lady Tigers will have another opportunity to avenge a previous defeat Tuesday night, when they take on the same Greensboro Lady Raider team that defeated them in overtime Dec. 29.