QUITMAN —Quitman High School's Shonte Hailes connected on a pair of free throws to push her team's advantage to two possessions with less than 9 seconds to play, and the Lady Panthers held on for a 59-55 win over Newton High School Tuesday night. "That shows a lot of experience and composure on her part," Quitman coach Gina Skelton said of her senior point guard. "She has been starting for me since the ninth grade, and she knows what I want." Hailes, a University of Southern Mississippi signee, finished the game with a team-high 19 points. "We were able to find the open person," Hailes said. "That's what helped us get the win. We found the open person, and (we) just tried to get the ball to them as quick as possible." Before Hailes' free throws in the final seconds, Newton had a chance on the prior possession to alter the outcome, but Ra'Jah Hodges 3-point attempt missed, and Myja McNicholos' put-back was too strong. "They are just babies (young players). We've got some babies," Newton coach Marcus Luckett said. "Myja is a freshman. Her and McKinely Ware are just freshman; it's growing pains. I told them in the locker room, 'You have to take those shots every time; when you get to be seasoned as a sophomore and a junior, those are going to be the shots that you make.'" The contest was played at a swift pace, featuring two of the top team's in the area, as each squad advanced to its respective classifications state semifinal game a season ago. "Because of the uptempo that Newton plays, it helps us get better," Skelton said. "That's why we love to play them every year; Coach Luckett does such a great job." Quitman (3-0) trailed by as many as 13 points in the second quarter, but managed to cut the halftime deficit to 35-29.