Senior Felicia Painter scored 15 points and grabbed 16 rebounds to lead Pinecrest to a 52-39 victory over Southern Lee in Monday’s basketball opener in Sanford.

The Patriots used a 14-2 run toward the end of the first half, and the beginning of the second, to build a 16-point lead against the Cavaliers. The closest the home team got after that was seven points. Keegan Lynch, a senior guard, was another big contributor, finishing with nine points, four assists and a pair of steals.

Coach Janie Hodges’ squad was scheduled to entertain Jack Britt on Tuesday.

Lynch, who sank a three on the first Patriot possession of the game, thought the team’s defensive effort helped overcome some shaky ball-handling and a 9-for-24 performance at the free throw line.

“It’s like our first game so there were some pre-game jitters,” she said, “but we’re good. Defense has always been one of our strong suits. We have to hustle on defense all the time.”

A three by Deshele Sumpter gave the Cavs their only lead of the game at 10-9 as the first period wound down. The game was tied at 11-11 when Lynch inbounded the ball to Janea Williams for the basket that put the Pats in front for good.

Jasmine Chalmers fed Williams for a basket, and Brianna Alston drove the baseline for two more, making it 17-11. The margin was four points when Chalmers banked in a three to start what turned out to be the decisive 14-2 run.

Painter received a pass from Williams to score the first of her nine third-period points. A nifty give-and-go with Lynch produced two more. Painter than converted 1-for-2 at the line after a steal to make it 36 20.

The Cavs closed it to 38-31, but Danielle Paran fed Painter for a basket, making it 40-31 going into the fourth period. Midway through the final eight minutes, another three by Lynch, off an assist from Painter, all but wrapped things up.

Victorious in her varsity coaching debut, Hodges pointed to a lot of easy shots that were missed early that made things tough for a while for the much more experienced Patriots.

“Defensively we stepped up, took a lot of charges and got a lot of rebounds,” she said. “We played a whole lot better in the second half and I think that’s what made the difference. We picked up the tempo and that’s what I need them to do.”

The Patriot junior varsity team also defeated the Cavs in its opener.

Pinecrest 9 20 11 12 — 52

Southern Lee 10 10 11 8 — 39

Pinecrest: Lynch 3 1-3 9, Williams 3 3-4 9, Chalmers 2 2-8 8, Alston 3 0-1 6, Painter 6 3-6 15, M. Thomas 2 0-0 5, Paran 0 0-2 0, Fairley 0 0-0 0, Lawhon 0 0-0 0, Waddell 0 0-0 0, Gaffney 0 0-0 0, Z. Thomas 0 0-0 0. Totals - 19 9-24 52.

Southern Lee: Taylor 6 5-10 19, Sumpter 3 0-3 8, McIver 0 1-2 1, Cicogna 2 1-2 5, Kalkhof 0 0-3 0, Boykin 0 0-1 0, Pickens 3 0-0 6, Totals - 14 7-21 39.

Three-point goals: (PC) 5 (Lynch 2, Chalmers 2, M. Thomas); (SL) 4 (Taylor 2,Sumpter 2).