NHS girls move closer to clinching divisional seed with win

Published 12:03 am Wednesday, February 5, 2014

BROOKHAVEN — Rashonae Rice led the Natchez High School Lady Bulldogs with 16 points and Kiana Jones added 15 points as they moved closer to clinching the No. 1 seed in the upcoming MHSAA Division 6-5A Tournament with a resounding 64-39 win over the Brookhaven High School Lady Panthers Tuesday night.

The first and third quarters proved to be beneficial for Natchez High. In the first quarter, it was defense that allowed the Lady Bulldogs to take control of the game as they forced turnovers and contested shots, leaving the Lady Panthers confused and frustrated. That quarter ended with Natchez High leading 18-2.

Brookhaven outscored Natchez High 13-12 in the second quarter, but still trailed by 15 points at halftime, 30-15. Then came the third quarter and this time it was the Lady Bulldogs’ offense that opened up their lead even more. They outscored the Lady Panthers 21-13 for a commanding 51-28 lead.

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Four Lady Bulldogs ended up scoring in double figures in this game. In addition to Rice and Jones, Kirdis Clark poured in 11 points and Asia Carradine had 10 points. The Lady Panthers, on the other hand, had only one player reach double figures – Jessica Wilson with a game-high 17 points.

Natchez High (18-2, 5-0) hosts Division 6-5A opponent Wingfield Friday at 6 p.m.

Trinity Episcopal 49, WCCA 48

WOODVILLE — Tali Beard led Trinity Episcopal with 17 points and Marty Lewis drained five 3-pointers on her way to a 16-point performance as the Lady Saints held on for a 49-48 win over the Wilkinson County Christian Academy Lady Rams in an MAIS District 7-A game Tuesday night.

WCCA went into halftime with a 23-21 lead over Trinity Episcopal at halftime, but it looked like the Lady Saints were on their way to an easy win after outscoring the Lady Rams 16-8 in the third quarter for a 37-31 lead.

The Lady Saints added to their lead early in the fourth quarter before the Lady Rams rallied to cut the lead to one point late in the game, but they could never get over the hump. Brandi Norwood led the Lady Rams with a game-high 18 points and Carmen Cavin had 10 points.

Trinity Episcopal (8-14, 3-4) plays at 6 p.m. Thursday at Franklin Academy. WCCA (N/A, N/A) hosts Tensas Academy at 6 p.m. Thursday.

Avoyelles 52, Vidalia 27

MOREAUVILLE, La. — It was a rough Tuesday night for the Vidalia Lady Vikings as they lost to the Avoyelles Lady Mustangs 52-27 in an LHSAA District 3-3A game.

Avoyelles dominated Vidalia in the first quarter en route to an 18-4 lead and never looked back. Tierra Bell led the Lady Vikings with seven points while Shermel Bell and Taylor Tennessee had six points each.

Vidalia (N/A, 1-6) hosts Jena at 6 p.m. Friday, which will be its Sweetheart Game.

Block 62, Northwood-Lena 6

JONESVILLE — Quinesha Branch led Block with a game-high 16 points and Traychele Baker had 14 points as the Lady Bears annihilated the Northwood-Lena Lady Gators 62-6 Tuesday night in an LHSAA District 3-1A game.

It did not take long for Block to assert itself on both ends of the court. In fact, the first quarter was all Lady Bears — literally. By the time the quarter finally came to an end, they led Northwood-Lena 24-0. And it didn’t get much better for the Lady Gators after that.

The only player for the Lady Gators that reached the scoring column was Mary Nichols. Vontresia Barber chipped in with eight points for the Lady Bears.

Block (14-8, 7-1) next plays at 6 p.m. Friday at Montgomery.

Crystal Springs 49, Jefferson County 42

FAYETTE — Jefferson County gave Crystal Springs a battle in the first half, but the visiting and top-ranked Lady Tigers rallied on the strength of their defense in the second half for a 49-42 win over the host Lady Tigers Tuesday night in MHSAA Division 7-3A action.

Jefferson County trailed Crystal Springs 13-10 after one quarter of play before taking control in the second quarter on its way to a surprising 26-22 halftime lead. However, any thoughts of an upset came to an end in the second half. Antrell Gales led the host Lady Tigers with 12 points while Kailyn Hammett added nine points.

With Tekayla Tassin and Dominique Jackson leading the way, Crystal Springs outscored Jefferson County 11-7 in the third quarter to tie the game at 33-33 and won the game with a 16-9 advantage in the fourth quarter. Tassin ended up with 18 points and Jackson had 16 points.

Jefferson County (N/A, N/A) plays at Hazlehurst at 6 p.m. Friday.

Harrisonburg 29, Monterey 27

MONTEREY — The Harrisonburg Lady Bulldogs defeated the Monterey Lady Wolves 29-27 on a last-second shot Tuesday night in LHSAA District 6-B action. No other information on the game was available.

Monterey (12-12, 1-2) hosts Grace Christian Friday at 6 p.m.