RALEIGH — By the end of the first quarter Friday, it looked like the second meeting between Apex and Athens Drive was going to finish much like the first, a one-sided 31-point win for the Jaguars.

After a lousy start, the Cougars found their rhythm, rallied and pushed the Jaguars unlike anyone has since late December. But Athens, with everyone now healthy and contributing, withstood Apex’s charge and outlasted the Cougars 63-53.

“We came out strong, but we had some mental breakdowns throughout the game,” said Athens guard Rachel Collins, who flung herself around the court and scored seven points to go along with seven rebounds and two steals. “When we went down, we kept our heads high and didn’t really stop playing.”

Of its 11 possessions in the first quarter, Apex missed six shots from the floor and turned the ball over five times. All it had to show after eight minutes of play was one point, thanks to Kimberlee Durham’s free throw at the 3:38 mark.

Athens, meanwhile, scored on three of its first four possessions, all of them inside the paint, and rode the early momentum to a 13-1 advantage.

“Apex, this is exactly what I expected of them, feistiness,” said Athens Drive coach Chris Danehower. “And I was very surprised we got out to a 13-1 lead. And then we kind of let them back in it. … Once it was a game, it was on.”

Down 19-7, Apex went on a 12-1 run. Freshman Bethany Collins sparked the run with a short jumper, and she scored all seven of her points in the next five minutes. Apex went into halftime down 24-22.

The Cougars took their first lead of the game with 4:44 to play in the third quarter after Durham’s three-point play.

But the lead was shortlived.

Athens closed the quarter on a 12-4 run and led by at least five points for the rest of the game.

“The first quarter, I don’t know if we were overhyped,” said Apex coach Scott Campbell. “They [Athens] played well. We didn’t attack. From then on, it was basically a dead-even game. … Down the road, this is going to help.”

Over the final three quarters, Apex (11-7, 6-2) outscored Athens Drive 52-50.

The Jaguars got contributions from all over the floor.

Forward Chareya Smith led all scorers with 19 points. In the fourth quarter, Smith shot 5-for-7 from the floor and scored 11 points.

“I had a little feeling in my hand,” the senior forward said. “They kept telling me to shoot it, so I kept shooting.”

Forward Alyx Ingram scored 14 points, and she was 6-for-6 at the foul line in the fourth quarter. Lainey Childrey chipped in seven points.

Durham led the way for Apex with 16 points, and forward Cassandra Mitchell added 14.

The win allowed Athens (12-5, 8-0) to take a two-game lead over Apex in the Tri-Eight race with six games to play. Because they swept the season series with Apex, the Jaguars also hold the tiebreaker if Apex were to force a first-place tie.

While possible, it seems unlikely. The Jaguars won their first eight Tri-Eight games by double figures. After the 10-point win against Apex, their next closest game was an 18-point win over Middle Creek.

“We feel pretty good about what we’re doing right now and we want to keep our positive momentum going forward,” said Danehower, whose team has won seven straight games. “We have to make ourselves better.”