Putting it all together.

A lot of high school basketball teams are in the process of figuring out just how to do that during the holiday break, including the girls' teams from Hough and North Meck, which squared off last Friday in Cornelius.

Hough (5-4 overall, 2-1 I-Meck) will participate in the Charlotte Sports Commission Hardwood Classic beginning with a 3:30 p.m. game against Forestview Tuesday at Bojangles' Coliseum in Charlotte, while North Meck will return to Denver for the East Lincoln Winter Jam and meet the host Mustangs at 7 p.m. in Wednesday's first round.

Hough won the teams' meeting last Friday by a 47-38 score, rallying from a nine-point deficit in the second quarter and generally playing a better brand of basketball in the second half to secure its third win over the Vikings in as many meetings.

"If we could just put two halves together, I think we'd be doing pretty good," said Hough coach Sonja Tate. "We've just got to find a way to ... play a full game of basketball."

Hough struggled early on, turning the ball over more times (10) than it attempted shots (eight) in the first quarter. But a 16-6 advantage in the third quarter, which included assists on six of the Huskies' seven field goals, nudged Hough ahead of a Viking team that dropped its third straight I-Meck Conference game after leading at the half. North led Lake Norman 18-16 before losing 39-36 Dec. 9, and led West Charlotte 29-24 only to fall 58-57 Dec. 13.

"Every game is going to be a battle," said North coach Jennifer Baker. "Every game can fall either way. The team that executes down the stretch will win."

Against Hough, North (4-5, 0-3) actually turned the ball over fewer times (nine) in the second half than it did in the first (16), but shot just 30 percent (6-of-20) from the floor after halftime and allowed Hough to match its first-half field goal total (five) in the first 5:30 of the third quarter.

"We have lapses when we go to sleep," said Baker. "You can't go to sleep in our league."

Tate said her team needs to continue working on handling defensive intensity, something that led to 14 turnovers in the first half against the Vikings.

"Pressure's killing us," she said. "Pressure makes diamonds, but it also busts pipes. We can't let pressure get to us and make bad or poor decisions."

Hough's Brandi Arey led all scorers with 14 points, while teammate Kelsey Dean added 10. Destiny Barrino and Kelly Beasley each scored 10 for North.