By KEVIN ECKLEBERRY

Daily News

The Troup Lady Tigers made easy work of visiting Upson-Lee on Tuesday, cruising to a 65-38 victory in their home debut.

Troup (3-0) put it away early, outscoring Upson-Lee 32-8 in the first half.

Much of Troup’s offense in the first half was generated by a suffocating defense that forced turnovers and never allowed Upson-Lee to get into a rhythm.

“We stress playing defense,” Troup head coach Carla Thornton said. “They kind of picked up the intensity in the second quarter. It’s fun when you play like that.”

Amber Gilbert led Troup with 19 points while making 9-of-14 free-throw attempts, and Aniya Palmer added 18 points.

Monyia Murphy contributed 10 points, Samarria Weldon and Alexcia Murphy had six points apiece, and Jada Green scored five points.

Leading 14-4, Troup erased any doubt about the outcome with a dominant stretch in the second quarter.

Gilbert got the second quarter started with a 3-pointer, and that was the start of a 13-0 run that gave Troup a 27-4 lead.

Everyone contributed during the run, including Palmer, who had six of the 13 points.

During one sequence, Palmer blocked a shot, and then drove past the Upson-Lee defense for a layup.

Weldon and Murphy each had a steal and a layup during the run as Troup forced turnover after turnover.

Upson-Lee found its offensive footing a little bit in the second half and enjoyed some success, but the outcome had long since been decided.

Troup will try to stay unbeaten with a road win over Greenville on Friday.