South Walton girls' rally falls short (SLIDESHOW)

FORT WALTON BEACH – When possible, Moore County (Ky.) girls’ basketball coach Bruce Slatten likes to keep things simple.

So as his team entered Wednesday’s GoSouthern.com Classic game against South Walton, his offensive game plan was succinct: Get the ball into the hands of junior forward Sarah Raby.

View a slideshow from the game »

“When we get it to her, she’s going to score,” Slatten said. “We try to establish her as much as possible.

“She’s solid.”

Raby responded with a game-high 17 points, nine of which came in what turned out to be a tight second half, as Moore County improved to 15-2 on the season with a 38-34 win.

Moore County guard Rachel Garland, a finalist for the title of Miss Basketball in Tennessee a year ago, according to Slatten, finished with 14 points. All but two of Garland’s points came in the second half, when the junior seemed to re-assert herself on the offensive end, driving and slashing to the basket.

“I was trying to do what I do best … driving the ball,” Garland said.

South Walton was led by twin seven-point efforts from Alexandra McManus and Casey Perot. Perot also had 11 rebounds on the day.

“I’m proud of our team,” Seahawks’ coach Kevin Craig said. “There are a lot of positives that we can take from this. Playing in this tournament is good for us.”

South Walton trailed by as many as nine in the fourth quarter before eventually whittling the deficit to just four at 36-32 following a 3-pointer by Allysa Bump with 18 seconds left.

The Seahawks sent Raby to the line on Moore County’s ensuing possession, where the junior missed her second attempt. Mackenzie Perot then scored off an offensive rebound to make it a 37-34 Moore County lead, but that would be as close as the Seahawks would get in their comeback bid.

Follow Travis Downey on Twitter: @TravisDnwfdn