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HIGH POINT -- The Grimsley Whirlies used a 16-0 run spanning the third and fourth quarters to break open a tight game Saturday and down the Thomasville Bulldogs, 37-23, in the seventh annual Tip-Off Challenge at High Point Central.

The Bulldogs (0-1) took a 10-9 halftime lead and extended it to 18-11 before Trumae Lucas took over.

She gave Grimsley (1-0) its first lead of the game with a layup with 1:35 remaining in the third quarter.

Lucas then hit two free throws and closed the quarter by banking in a shot while falling down as time expired in the period.

While the Whirlies got untracked offensively late in the third quarter, they made things difficult for the Bulldogs by turning up the defensive pressure and challenging every pass, a marked difference from their play in the first half.

"When we turned our speed up in the second half, they couldn't handle it," Grimsley coach Phil Weaver said. "That tells me our effort wasn't what it should have been, except for Amber Cook, who played as hard as anybody could ever play."

Cook and Jasmine Alston drew the assignment of guarding Secily Ray, Thomasville's star player. Ray scored all five points for the Bulldogs in the opening quarter and finished the game with a team-high nine.

The Whirlies' second-half run came when the team got away from the one-on-one mentality that plagued them in the opening half. The majority of their points after intermission came on layups and free throws.

"If we could have gotten the ball inside to Krystin (Fields) and Nicole (Hargraves) early, we would never have sat on four points for eight hours," Weaver said. "I was really frustrated because we kept throwing up threes like layups.

"We've got to learn there's more points to be scored inside than outside the arc."

Both teams showed some opening-game rust. Thomasville's speed gave Grimsley trouble early as the Bulldogs forced the Whirlies into several rushed shots.

"I think we had some people playing more the way they wanted to play rather than the way we we're supposed to play," said Weaver. "And then I attribute it a lot to Thomasville's defense because they played really well."

Thomasville 5 5 8 5 -- 23
Grimsley 4 5 14 14 -- 37

Thomasville (0-1) -- Secily Ray 9, Christine Carter 6, Tia David 5, Tiana Hall 3.

Grimsley (1-0) -- Trumae Lucas 11, Krystin Fields 10, Jasmine Alston 5, Nicole Hargraves 4, Tiffany Lucas 4, Brittany Cook 2, Amber Cook 1.