The state’s sixth-ranked 3A girls basketball team probably came into Beeville looking for an easy win, but the Lady Trojans had other ideas.

The Rockport-Fulton Pirates did record the win, 58-54, but nothing came easy. The Lady Trojans played well and a few more successfully made free throws and if a couple of missed put-backs would have found the basket, the Beeville ladies might have upset the Lady Pirates.

But the experience and the skill of the visitors did prevail. The Lady Pirates made good on their late trips to the foul line to hold off the Lady Trojans.

The Beeville girls owned a 11-9 lead at the end of the first quarter, which seemed to wake up the Lady Pirates. The R-F girls came out firing in the second period to claim a 26-22 lead heading into the half.

The pace quickened in the third period with the Lady Pirates scoring from the outside on long three-pointers. The Lady Trojans tried to keep pace. The R-F girls added three more points to their advantage by taking the third quarter 21-18. That made it a 47-40 game entering the final eight minutes of action.

The Lady Trojans kept up the pressure and cut into the lead but the local ladies still trailed with just a minute or so to go. The Lady Trojans had to put the Pirates at the charity stripe and hope they would miss.

The Lady Pirates responded and and knocked down the shots to secure the four-point, hard-fought win.

Four Lady Trojans were in double figures. Victoria Elizalde finished with a team-high 13 points. J.J. Hernandez and Randi Maupin both added 11. Chelsea Contreras hit for 10 points. Theresa Amador followed with seven and Alisa Patterson contributed two.

The Lady Trojans hosted Orange Grove on Friday night and will participate in the Victoria St. Joseph Flyers’ tournament on Dec. 28-30. Their first game is on Tuesday at 11:30 a.m. against the Ganado Indians.