CRYSTAL SPRINGS — After an up-and-down first half, Franklin County played more consistently on the offensive end in the second half as the Lady Bulldogs defeated the Hazlehurst Lady Indians 42-31 Thursday afternoon in a girls’ semifinal-round game at the MHSAA Division 7-3A Tournament at Crystal Springs High School.

Franklin County dominated Hazlehurst on both ends of the court in the first quarter en route to a 13-4 lead by the quarter’s end. Then the No. 2 seed Lady Bulldogs went cold from the field in the second quarter, scoring only two points. But their defense allowed Hazlehurst, the No. 3 seed, to score just five points, giving them a 15-9 lead over the Lady Indians at halftime.

The Lady Bulldogs scored 13 points in the third quarter and 14 points in the fourth quarter while the Lady Indians had just 11 and 10 points, respectively. Tadayla Hunt led the Lady Bulldogs with a game-high 15 points while Katie Briggs and Brianta O’Quinn had seven points each.

Franklin County (14-11) will take on No. 1 seed and tournament host Crystal Springs in the girls’ championship game at 7 p.m. today. The Lady Bulldogs will also a first-round game next week in the MHSAA Class 3A South State Playoffs.

Jefferson County boys 64,
Wilkinson County boys 63

CRYSTAL SPRINGS — Ry’Yale Brown, the MHSAA Division 7-3A Player of the Year, led No. 4 seed Jefferson County with 19 points and made the game-winning shot with nearly three seconds left as the Tigers upset the No. 1 seed Wilkinson County Wildcats 64-63 Thursday afternoon in the boys’ semifinals of the division tournament.

After being down 19-12 after one quarter of play, it appeared that Wilkinson County was well on its way to the finals after outscoring Jefferson County 16-14 in the second quarter and 20-8 in the third quarter for a 48-42 lead.

But the Tigers responded in a big way, rallying all the way back for the stunning victory by outscoring the Wildcats 22-15, including Brown’s clutch jumper.

Travion Jones scored 18 points and Ja’Quorias Stewart had 12 points for Wilkinson County (12-12), which will take on the loser of the Crystal Springs/Hazlehurst game at 5:30 p.m. today in the boys’ consolation game.

Akeem Williams chipped in with 13 points and Jadarrius Harried finished with 11 points for Jefferson County (15-13), which takes on the winner of the Crystal Springs/Hazlehurst game at 8:30 p.m. today in the boys’ championship game.

Hinds AHS girls 56, Cathedral 31

BOGUE CHITTO — Cathedral had no answer for Erica Harris, who led all scorers with 24 points as the Hinds Agricultural High School Lady Bulldogs defeated the Lady Green Wave 56-31 Thursday afternoon in the girls’ semifinals of the MHSAA Division 7-1A Tournament at Bogue Chitto High School.

Despite scoring just four points in the first quarter, Cathedral was only down by 10 points, 27-17, at halftime before Hinds AHS pulled away thanks mainly in part to an 18-6 advantage in the third quarter. Brennah McCullah scored 13 points and Octavia Barnes had 10 points for the Lady Bulldogs.

Elizabeth Smith finished with 10 points and Grayson Bryant added seven points for Cathedral (13-11), which will take on the loser of the Pelahatchie/Bogue Chitto game at 4 p.m. today in the girls’ consolation game.

Crystal Springs girls
def. Wilkinson County 

CRYSTAL SPRINGS — The top-seeded, top-ranked and host Crystal Springs Lady Tigers defeated the fifth-seeded Wilkinson County Lady Wildcats Thursday night in the girls’ semifinals of the MHSAA Division 7-3A Tournament.

No other information on the game was available.

Wilkinson County will take on Hazlehurst at 4 p.m. today in the girls’ consolation game. Crystal Springs goes up against Franklin County at 7 p.m. today in the girls’ championship game.

Pitkin girls 50, Monterey 21

PITKIN, La. — Madison McDonald led Pitkin with 20 points and Brianne Perkins had 11 points as the 14th-seeded Lady Tigers rolled to a 50-21 win over the 19th-seeded Monterey Lady Wolves Thursday night in the bi-district round of the LHSAA Class B Playoffs.

For much of the game, Monterey struggled to get shots to fall and Pitkin took advantage.

The Lady Tigers jumped to a 19-7 lead after one quarter of play and led 30-16 at halftime. After both teams couldn’t do anything offensively in the third quarter, Pitkin outscored Monterey 16-2 in the fourth quarter.

Jody Duncan led Monterey with seven points and Karlee Woodruff added six points. The Lady Wolves finished with an overall record of 15-14.

Lake Arthur 63, Ferriday 21

LAKE ARTHUR, La. — Kaitlyn Trahan and Anne Shaw led four Lake Arthur players in double figures with 15 points each as the No. 2 seed Lady Tigers defeated the 31st-seeded Ferriday Lady Trojans 63-21 Thursday night in the bi-district round of the LHSAA Class 2A Playoffs.

A young Ferriday team had no chance against an experienced Lake Arthur squad. By the time the first quarter was over, the Lady Tigers led the Lady Trojans 24-4 and from there the rout was on.

Jada Griggs and Sha’Keria Kelly had seven points each for Ferriday, which ended up with an overall record of 10-12.