Monday night’s girls basketball game between visiting P.K. Yonge and Gainesville High was a tale of two halves.

P.K. Yonge turned up the defensive pressure in the third quarter and rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit for a 48-42 win at The Purple Palace for its fourth straight win in the series.

“Basically, we went in and challenged them to play tougher and harder than the other team,” said P.K. Yonge coach Willie Powers. “I thought GHS played a lot harder and wanted it more in the first half than we did. They were much more physical than we were.”

It was a game of runs in the opening half.

GHS sophomore guard Jewel Alexander hit a left baseline buzzer-beater from just outside the paint to bring the Hurricanes (2-5) within two, 11-9, at the end of the first quarter.

Junior Jayden Terry (game-high 20 points) made a 3-pointer with 6:11 to play in the half to give the Hurricanes a 12-11 lead.

Then, two free throws by junior Kendall Ruise (7 points), followed by a steal by Terry and two free throws, sparked a 9-0 run and a 16-11 lead.

After P.K. Yonge sophomore Ashlyn Young’s bucket got the Blue Wave within two, 19-17, GHS ended the half on an 8-0 run.

Junior Rihanna Davis hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key and junior Taylor Mullins (7 points) added a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 14 seconds left as GHS headed to the locker room with a 27-17 advantage.

Discipline helped the Lady Hurricanes build a 10-point halftime lead.

“I think we lost that (discipline) in the second half, but the first half we came out ready to play, held on to the lead for a little bit, the girls were ready to win, and I think we lost that in the second half,” said Gainesville coach Jazlynd Rollins.

P.K. Yonge (6-4) chipped away in the third quarter.

Freshman Taylor Powers, Willie’s granddaughter, hit a pair of free throws, followed by a left-wing 3-pointer by Young (18 points) to cut the deficit in half.

GHS didn’t score its first points until nearly five minutes into the third quarter on a free throw by Terry with 3:16 to play in the period for a 28-22 lead.

Powers answered with a left-wing 3-ball to trim the lead to three, 28-25, one minute later.

The freshman scored eight of her team-high 19 points in the quarter, including a left-wing 3-pointer, her second of the quarter, with 14 seconds left as P.K. Yonge only trailed 31-30 heading into the final quarter.

“Taylor played well, put the ball in the basket, hit some big shots, played some really tough defense and was really tough tonight,” Powers said. “For our guards, we really have to be tough in order to maintain leads and to get leads.”

Terry hit two free throws with 7:15 to play to give GHS the lead again, 33-32, and did everything she could to keep the ‘Canes in the game. She scored nine of her 20 in the fourth quarter.

“I think she played well,” Rollins said. “As a team though, we do need to get better with turnovers, our focus, it’s not always one individual but the team as a whole, but I think she did well tonight.”

Powers scored after an offensive rebound to give the Blue Wave a 34-33 lead with 5:52 to play.

But it was a left baseline 3-pointer by senior Reniyah Clark for a 37-33 advantage with 4:48 remaining that helped the Blue Wave pull away late.

“She is the glue,” Powers said. “Without Reniyah, we don’t go. Everybody talks about our guards, Ash, Tay, Summer (Barnett), but Reniyah is the glue that makes P.K. Yonge girls basketball stick. She is the most underrated player that I’ve coached in the last 10 years. I feel that without her we are in pretty bad shape because she doesn’t come off the court.”

P.K. Yonge will break for the holidays while GHS will host Class 1A state runner-up Wildwood at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday.

“It’s going to be a tough game, it’s going to be a tough fight, the girls just have to come in to be ready to play,” Rollins said.