The Dawson County High School varsity Lady Tigers' basketball team ran its winning streak to 20 after demolishing West Hall in Oakwood last week.

The Lady Tigers defeated the Lady Spartans Jan. 13 by a 73-47 score.

"Winning 20 straight is unbelievable," said Dawson County coach Steve Sweat. "You think about stuff like this and when it actually happens, it's like, wow."

According to junior guard Karlie Bearden, the team's focus on defense is what is making a difference.

"We're trying to play the best defense we can play and the offense will come as a result," she said.

Bearden had a double-double for the Lady Tigers with 17 points and 11 rebounds.

Ashley Parker scored eight of her 16 points in the first quarter to stake Dawson County to a 20-0 lead. Teammate Sheyenne Seabolt started the game with a three-pointer to begin the scoring for Dawson County. The senior also scored inside later in the quarter.

"Sheyenne's really worked on catching the ball inside," Sweat said. "But she can also stay outside and shoot it too."

West Hall didn't score their first points, on a basket by Anna McKendree, until just 48 seconds remained in the quarter. The Lady Tigers jumped out to a 20-5 lead after the first eight minutes of play.

McKendree finished with a game-high 19 points in the contest.

West Hall didn't stop playing though as both teams scored 11 points each in the second quarter to make the score 31-16 at the break.

The 20-game winning streak, a new school record, is better than the 18-2 two years ago when the Lady Tigers played for the state championship.

Also scoring in double digits for the Lady Tigers were: Seabolt with 16 points and Jordan Moore with 14. The Lady Spartans continued to leave Moore open on the perimeter all game. Moore responded with four big three-pointers.

Filling out the scoring column for the Lady Tigers were: Peytan Porter with five points, Ansley Costley added three points and Haley Burgess scored two points.

Katelynn Simpson had an impressive night on the boards with nine rebounds.

Dawson County is now 7-0 in Region 7-AAA play with a huge trip to Banks County scheduled for Friday.

With a win over the Leopards (17-3; 5-2) the Lady Tigers will virtually clinch the regular season region title. Tip off will be at 7 p.m. in Homer.

The Lady Tigers will also play at home on Jan. 27 against Franklin County (12-7; 4-3) in a 6 p.m. start.

DCN regional staff contributed to this story.