LEAD - Molly Muehl drained 20 of her game-high 24 points in the second half, fueling Douglas' 52-47 comeback win over Lead-Deadwood in a Black Hills Conference girls basketball game Thursday on parent-senior night at the Lead-Deadwood High School Gymnasium.

Hannah Edwards, a 6- foot senior forward, chipped in eight points and 15 rebounds for the Patriots (6-10 overall, 6-7 BHC).

Danielle Bellet and Jessica Fierro netted 14 points each for Lead-Deadwood (5-12, 5-8).

A 9-0 scoring spurt, capped by a three-pointer by freshman Jett Rantapaa sent Lead-Deadwood to a 15-8 lead in the second quarter. Lead-Deadwood took a 22-11 halftime advantage.

Muehl connected for 11 points in the third quarter, as the Patriots whittled the deficit to 35-33 at the close of the quarter.

A trey by Muehl knotted the game at 36-36 in the final stanza. Douglas took the lead for good on a jumper by Courtney Balisco with 5:05 remaining.

Lead-Deadwood rallied to within two points on a drive to the basket and ensuing two-pointer by Bellet.

However, the Patriots sank six of eight charity shots in the final two minutes to secure the win.

"In the first half, we played a little scatter-brained," Douglas coach Melissa Jongma said. "Our point guard (Muehl) was able to get things under control in the second half. We got the ball inside and then kicked it back outside against their zone.

"We did well in the first half," Lead-Deadwood coach Rob Hafer said. "In the second half, we didn't play good defense on their scorer.

"Our lack of mental focus," Hafer said of the reason for the second-half turnaround. "We got lazy with some of our passes."

Hafer praised the play of Fierro and Jett Rantapaa, who each were in the starting lineup for the first time this season.

"Both girls played well," Hafer said. Fierro and Everett snared eight rebounds each.

"Jessica did a great job on the boards," Hafer said.

Kelsey Feist, Chelsey Rantapaa, Bellet, Sarah Stagner and Andrea Everett were the five Lead-Deadwood seniors honored before the start of the game. Bellet was the recipient of the National Girls and Women in Sports award at halftime.

Lead-Deadwood visits Harding County in a non-conference game Monday. The Lady Golddiggers host St. Thomas More in their regular season finale Tuesday. Lead-Deadwood and More likely could meet again in the first round of the District 16A tournament on Feb. 19.

Douglas travels to Spearfish Tuesday in a matchup of District 4AA teams.