A third-quarter explosion proved to be the difference Friday night at Central Christian Academy as the Lady Warriors fell to Marion Military, 55-27.

Led by the play of point guard Yolanda Kelly the Lady Tigers did a little roaring in the third stanza.

Leading 18-11 at the break, Michelle Ivey’s MMI team opened things up and outscored CCA 28-5 in the period.

Kelly scored 14 of her game-high 25 in the third period.

She also added 9 steals and 8 boards.

Kelly had plenty of help.

Feliecia Sprott added 8 points and 12 rebounds while Samantha Suttles had 8 points, 5 steals and 7 rebounds.

Emily Easley had 6 points and 9 rebounds while Sandretta Smith had 4 points.

Ebony England had 2 points and Jonika Smith had 2 as well.

For CCA Nikki Smith and Amber Morton lead with 8 points each.

Smith had 4 rebounds and Morton had 5 caroms.

Holly Carter added 5 points while Ashley Weber had 4 points.

Tamara Stacey scored 2 points for the Lady Warriors.

CCA took the early lead as Weber fed Carter for a quick deuce. S. Smith answered with a jumper for the Lady Tigers.

MMI pushed it out to 6-2, but CCA fought back on buckets form Morton and N. Smith.

MMI closed out with baskets from Sprott and S. Smith to take a 10-6 lead into the first break.

Kelly hit Sprott for a deuce and the first bucket of the second quarter, but N. Smith got a stick-back bucket for the Lady Warriors.

Sprott powered the ball into the hoop inside, then Kelly got a steal and a lay in for a 16-8 lead.

Another Sprott offensive rebound led to another bucket and a 10-point lead.

Ashley Weber hit 1 of 2 at the line, then got a steal and a lay in to beat the buzzer and cut the lead to 18-11 at the break.

The third quarter belonged to MMI.

Their pressure defense was too much for CCA and the Tigers exploded, led by Kelly’s 14. Suttles scored all 8 of her points in the frame and Easley added 4.

By the time the smoke cleared, the Tigers had a comfortable 46-16 lead after three.

To their credit, the Lady Warriors never gave up.

MMI used a lot of their bench and CCA outscored the Lady Tigers 11-9 in the final frame to provide the final score of 55-27.

CCA was set to travel to Coosa Valley on Saturday while MMI goes on the road to Marengo on Monday.