Ta’Shauna Rodgers (18 points, 11 rebounds) and Keosha Riddick (11 points, 10 rebounds) were the double-double earners Tuesday night as King’s Fork passed their closest test of the regular season, beating Deep Creek at home, 53-47.

With the win, the Lady Bulldogs remain perfect on the year (6-0, 5-0 district) and clear any question of who is competing for the top of the Southeastern District. King’s Fork and reigning district champions Indian River appear headed for a major showdown January 9 in Bulldog territory.

In Tuesday’s contest, the teams were tightly matched in the first half, tying in both opening quarters, though each found their offense in different places. The Lady Bulldogs took sparse, deliberate shots, going 7-for-15 from the floor and 2-for-8 from beyond the arc, with the pair of treys coming from senior Brittany Holloway.

The Hornets, in contrast, launched more shots with less accuracy, going 6-for-21 on field goals and 3-for-4 from three-point range.

On defense, Deep Creek ran a box-and-1 system to double-team Rodgers, which kept her to four points in the half, while KF stuck with their zone strategy and were aggressive against the Hornets’ passing.

With the two game plans producing equal results, the teams found themselves in a low-scoring 23-23 stalemate at halftime.

The crowd expected an explosion of offense to open the second half, but had to wait until it was nearly three minutes old.

Holloway forced a turnover as DC was transitioning to offense, which Riddick recovered, finding Rodgers down-court for the lay-in and the lead. Ransheda Jennings and Holloway each hit a trey late in the period to give the Lady Bulldogs some separation, but a pair of DC free throws closed the gap to 36-32 going into the fourth quarter.

Jennings got things started for KF in the final period, as she found Rodgers on a beautiful pass off a steal. Now with some momentum, the Lady Bulldogs put together a 7-0 scoring run that DC couldn’t match in the waning minutes. Rodgers hit another pair of free throws for the team’s final points, as KF won with a final score of 53-47.

&uot;We went to man [defense] in the second half, and I think that’s what allowed us to get our separation,&uot; said KF head coach Tim Goetz.

&uot;Brittany Holloway and Ransheda hit a couple big threes early in the half, and those threes really made a big difference.&uot;

The Lady Bulldogs went 15-for-31 (48.4 percent) from the floor on the night, while keeping the Hornets to 13-for-38 (34.2 percent).

KF won the total rebounds category, 39-36.

The Lady Bulldogs look to keep their undefeated mark going tonight when they host Churchland at 7 p.m.