MERRY HILL – Sometimes changes takes a while to set it; but when it comes the results are more often than not, positive.

Lawrence Academy made a coaching change in the girl’s basketball program at the end of 2011 as Frank Baker took over the duties at the head of the bench for the new year.

The Lady Warriors’ fortunes didn’t change right away as they dropped a 57-11 decision to Hobgood Academy on their home floor Friday night.

Sydney Brabble and Meg Sutton had four points each for Lawrence. Schyler Edmundson led all scorers with 20 points for Hobgood while the Lady Raiders’ Cassidy Robertson added eleven.

“They gave it all they had,” said Baker in the ultimate compliment to his team’s effort despite the loss.

“They’re a tough team over there,” he said, gesturing toward the Hobgood bench. “Big, strong, physical, and good ball players.”

Hobgood established themselves early, racing out to a first quarter lead with balanced scoring. The Lady Raiders controlled the backboards and scored everywhere from outside jumps shots to inside the lane.

Though they missed their first dozen shots, or so, Lawrence finally broke through before the end of the quarter when Priscilla Lunsford scored on a free through after being fouled in the paint.

Following a Hobgood miss, she got her team’s first field goal; still, Lawrence trailed badly, 19-3, after the first eight minutes of play.

Hobgood opened the second quarter with Emily Thompson draining a three-point shot from beyond the arc.  Then, on its first possession of the quarter, Lawrence’s Brabble score on a short jump shot.

Hobgood didn’t tickle the twine too often in the quarter – scoring just seven points – but their defense was stifling on Lawrence and the halftime horn sounded with the Lady Raiders in front, 26-5.

For the third quarter, Hobgood coach Pam Tutor allowed her team to pace itself and it led to a 15-point output. Not to be denied, Lawrence had its best frame of the game with a four point effort thanks to scoring from Brabble and Sutton.

Trailing 41-9 as the fourth quarter began, Edmundson got four quick points for the Lady Raiders before she was finished for the night.

Robertson, Morgan Medford and Kathy Barnhill did most of the contributing for Hobgood as they picked up the win and rose to 3-0 in the Tarheel Independent Conference.

“I played a few people tonight who usually don’t play together,” said Tutor after the game. “and they picked up to make the second half better than the first half.

“I tried a big line-up and a small lineup tonight,” she added, “and tried to come up with a combination that was better than what we’d been working with.”