Rabun County won in a landslide Friday night at Commerce in a top-10 matchup, leaving no doubt with an 81-44 victory. The Lady Wildcats (17-5; 4-1 in 8-A DI) came in ranked #4, and had 4 players score in double figures against #9 Commerce (12-9; 2-3).

Ellie Southards had a pair of 3-point plays in the early going as Rabun got ahead 10-3. Lucy Hood added a couple of shots from beyond the arc in a 27-14 first quarter. Hood had 14 points and Southards 13 in the first half alone, as the Lady Cats held a sizeable 45-20 lead at the break.

An 11-0 run to open the third sealed the deal, and Commerce trailed 68-30 heading into the final quarter. The Lady Tigers did get some traction with a 12-0 run to start the fourth, which had a 6-minute clock due to the 30-plus point lead. Essence Hester nailed a couple 3-pointers as part of the run, and Hood ended the drought with another trifecta, one of 6 for her in the game.

Hood led all scorers with 24 points, and was followed by Southards’ 15, while Mili Watts had 13 and Addybeth Owens 12. Jacie McCall ended with 7, Chloe Erlewine 6, Adelyn Thompson 3, and Madison Houck 1. Commerce was led in scoring by Jada Palumbo with 11 points. Raven Parks and Vi’Tory Williams each had 8, Jayla Collins had 6, and both Malay Mitchell and Jayah Vann ended with 5 points.