Pinckneyville outscored Johnston City 13-6 in the fourth quarter to hold on to a 39-31 win on the opening day of the Herrin Lady Tiger Holiday Hoops Tournament Saturday.

Each team scored 12 points in the first quarter, but the Lady Panthers fought to take a 21-16 lead at the intermission.

Johnston City responded to outscore Pinckneyville 9-5 in the third to cut the deficit to 26-25 heading in to the fourth.

“Tonight was a pretty disappointing effort on our part,” said Pinckneyville coach Alan Engelhardt. “You have to give Johnston City credit, even though they were starting three freshmen, they out-hustled us all game.  We have to understand as a team that we have to play hard every game, not just three out of every four games.  There are nights when shots don't fall, but there is no excuse for having a night where your defense and effort fail.  The good news is we survived and found a way to win at the end, because you can't win a tournament on the first night, but you sure can lose it.”

Emily Miller scored 15 points to pace the Pinckneyville attack, while Mo Ramsey added eight and Taylor Cicardi added seven.

With the win, Pinckneyville improved to 10-2 overall and 1-0 in tournament play.