Girls Roundup: Trinity advances; Vidalia finishes year

Published 12:02 am Wednesday, February 11, 2015

HAYNESVILLE, La. — In the first round of the MAIS Class A South Regional Tournament, the Trinity Episcopal Lady Saints were hardly tested as they cruised past Union Christian Academy 71-28.

Trinity entered the game as a No. 1 seed, while Union was a No. 4 seed.

“The girls played really great,” Trinity head coach Fay Minor said. “We wanted to come out and jump on them and throw them out of rhythm.”

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The Lady Saints were able to do that easily, jumping out to an early 23-9 lead after just one quarter of play.

The second and third quarters were closer, but Trinity stepped on the gas pedal again in the fourth quarter, outscoring Union Christian 25-8 in the final period.

D’Asia Mitchell led Trinity with 28 points in the game and teammate Jasmine Ivory chipped in with 18. Tali Beard also added 12 points and Dionna Jackson recorded 14 rebounds.

“(D’Asia) started off slow missing some easy baskets, but came back strong,” Minor said. “She really concentrated on knocking down her outside shot. Tali was consistent from 3-point range as well.”

Trinity will now face Claiborne Academy in a matchup that Minor said will be “a dog fight.”

“Our pressure is going to be a big key and limiting the amount of turnovers we have,” said Minor of the looming game. “We have to get the ball inside as well. Once we get it inside, then we can kick it back out and get our jump shots going.”

Marksville 67, Vidalia 21

MARKSVILLE, La. — Their final record may not show it, but Vidalia head coach Fred Marsalis is proud of what his team accomplished this season.

The Lady Vikings played their last game of the 2014-15 campaign Tuesday and fell to Marksville, 67-21. With the loss, Vidalia finished with a 4-20 record.

“We’ve been in nearly every game this year,” Marsalis said. “This was our worst loss of the year. We feel a great improvement in that the kinds hung in there and nobody gave up.”

Marksville, who won the district championship, took advantage of Vidalia being without Bre’Honor Harris and another Lady Viking who were out sick.

The Lady Tigers built a big 24-7 first quarter lead, and then shutout Vidalia in the second quarter, 18-0.

The second half didn’t get much easier as Marksville continued to pour it on in the third, outscoring the Lady Vikings 17-4. But Vidalia wouldn’t quit, and ended up posting 10 points in the fourth quarter.

Tierra Bell was the leading scorer for Vidalia with eight points. But more importantly, it will be the last time she suits up for the Lady Vikings.

“Tierra was the team leader,” Marsalis said. “She was at every practice and started every game. We are just looking for other kids to step up, as she did, and become a team leader.”

Marsalis said he hopes Bell will be able to continue playing basketball at the next level, as well.

“She is going to be hard to replace,” Marsalis said. “We are all hoping she can play at the next level. We know she can, we just hope someone will offer.”

Cathedral 63, St. Aloysius 38

NATCHEZ — Elizabeth Smith recorded 18 points and teammate McKenzie Milligan added 14 as the Cathedral Lady Wave rolled past St. Aloysius 63-38.

St. Al hung around in the first half, but a 20-5 third quarter from Cathedral propelled them to a win.

“We challenged them in the second half to pick it up, and they did,” Cathedral head coach Randy Smith said. “In the third quarter, we pressed more effectively and we cut down on the turnovers. The press really bothered them.”

Of Milligans 14, eight of them came in the third quarter.

The win pushes Cathedral to 11-6 overall, but more importantly earned them the No. 3 seed in the district tournament next week.

The Lady Wave will face St. Al again in the first round.

Jefferson County 60, Wilkinson County 36

FAYETTE — The Jefferson County Lady Tigers continued their tear through MHSAA Division 7-3A with a 60-36 thrashing of Wilkinson County.

Antrell Gales led the Lady Tigers with 17 points and teammate Diamond Smith recorded 16 in the win.

Jefferson County jumped out to an early 14-8 lead after the first quarter, but it was an 18-8 second quarter that pushed Jefferson County into control.

The story was the same in the fourth, when Jefferson County outscored Wilkinson County 18-8 again, to seal the win.

Sharica Franklin led Wilkinson County with nine points.