SLIDELL — Franklinton’s Lady Demons were hurt by turnovers in a 72-47 loss to Salmen on the road Friday night in District 8-4A play.
“That was the killer (turnovers),” Franklinton coach Elecia Crain said. “Turnovers from the beginning to the end, and that’s what we’ve been trying to eliminate all season.”
Franklinton turned the ball over on its first five possessions and eight of its first nine possessions.
Salmen had a 20-8 lead after the first quarter and extended it to 28-11 just 1:48 into the second period.
But the Lady Demons did a better job of not turning the ball over and the result was a 15-0 run to end the first half.
The run began when Danaria Magee, who had nine points, hit a technical foul free throw with 4:15 left.
Magee then hit a bucket, got fouled and missed the free throw, but still cut the lead to 28-14.
India Dickerson, who led the Lady Demons with 12 points that included two 3-pointers, scored the next six points on a 3-pointer, a free throw and both ends of a 1-and-1 to make it 28-20 by the 1:36 mark.
Jaylyn Bickham and Addison Carter both hit 3-pointers over the final 34 seconds and the Lady Demons went into halftime trailing by just 28-26.
The turnovers came back in the second half.
Salmen opened the second half on a 17-1 run.
Ashanti Eden hit a 3-pointer and a pair of field goals to begin the run before Franklinton’s Kaniya Dillon split a pair of free throws.
Eden, who scored a game-high 30 points that included two 3-pointers, hit from beyond the 3-point line to make it 38-27 at the 5:40 mark.
Jaylen Huderson hit 1-of-2 from the line before Eden hit another 3-pointer and converted a 3-point play. It was 45-27 with 3:38 left in the third quarter.
Salmen led 51-33 through three quarters.
Eden hit a fastbreak layup 46 seconds into the third quarter, to make it a 20-point game.
The Lady Demons, who trailed by as many as 28 points at 63-35, never got the deficit below 20 the rest of the game.
Franklinton fell to 10-13 overall and 2-2 in district.
Dillon recorded 11 points for the Lady Demons.
Hayle Davidson tallied eight points while Jalyn Bickham had four and Addison Carter added three. Bickham and Carter hit a 3-pointer each.
Salmen improved to 14-10 overall and 3-1 in district.
Huderson posted 13 points for Salmen while Arian Cooks posted 12 points. Both players made two 3-pointers.
Jayla Faciane had eight points while Allie Batiste, Brieon Smith and Darreon Pratt all had three. Faciane knocked down two 3-pointers while Batiste and Pratt had one each.