APEX - First-year Apex girls basketball coach Jay Huffman hopes his team’s Tuesday night game against Fuquay-Varina is a microcosm for how the rest of the season will turn out.

Through three quarters, the Lady Cougars were up seven on the visiting Lady Bengals, and Fuquay had cut it as close to four in the period.

And in the fourth quarter, it all clicked for Apex.

The Cougars went on a 26-4 run in the fourth quarter and ran away with a 73-44 victory.

It’s an encouraging blueprint for Huffman's team. With a new coach, one senior and two juniors, the Cougars stumbled to a 2-8 start entering the holidays. But Tuesday's win was the most convincing yet for the young team.

“It’s been a challenging year in every aspect of the game. They’re learning and working really hard and I’m proud of them for their effort, but we’ve struggled to apply to game situations,” said Huffman. “They’re a wonderful group of kids. They all care about getting better – both individually and as a team. I couldn’t ask for more.”

Sophomore Aliya Ruffin had the best game of her young varsity career, scoring 30 points and adding nine rebounds.

She noticed a change in the team coming back from the holidays, where the team only practiced – not participating in any tournaments.

“Before break, we were a little timid. We were a young team and we had a bad record,” Ruffin said. “But over break we were working really hard.”

Apex also received 18 points from sophomore Sam Curcuru and nine points and 10 rebounds from freshman Mia.Castagrero.

The Cougars’ defense created numerous fast breaks in the final period, which allowed Apex to roll to its second conference win.

“They always play hard, but we’ve struggled to communicate,” Huffman said.

Fuquay had 16 points from Curisa Johnson and 15 from Camille Baker.

The Bengals have had trouble fielding enough players for a full second string, but help could be on the way for coach Monte Bullock.

“With grades coming out, hopefully we’ll pick up a couple of girls who were ineligible,” Bullock said. “Injury-wise, I’m still out three girls for the year.”