ACCS girls advance to South State final, Trinity falls in semis

Published 12:01 am Saturday, February 14, 2015

BROOKHAVEN — Adams County Christian School didn’t take long hitting the accelerator in the semifinals of the MAIS South State tournament Friday night.

In a 57-51 win against Simpson Academy, the (26-6) Lady Rebels outscored the Lady Cougars 32-16 in the first half. Though the Lady Rebels were dominant in the first half, ACCS head coach Melanie Hall said the team made crucial errors in the second half, which let Simpson back into the game, as the Lady Cougars outscored ACCS by 10 in the second half.

“I’m still looking for four big quarters,” Hall said. “We got pretty much anything we wanted, but we missed a lot of free throws and a lot of layups. We had a chance to put it away, but we missed some ‘gimmies.’”

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Anna McDaniel had her jumper working early and often, as she led the Lady Rebels with 22 points in the victory. McKenzie Boyd scored six points, but led the team in rebounds with 15.

“My little guard was boxing out and played big (Friday),” Hall said.

Bailey Boyd recorded eight points for ACCS, while Jordan Petty scored nine. Hall expects Petty, the Lady Rebels most dominant post player, to be a focal point of attack against Bowling Green in the South State championship at 3:15 p.m. today.

“Bowling Green is a very solid, very good basketball team,” Hall said. “If they have one weakness it would be that they don’t have a dominant post player.”

Trinity 32, Claiborne Academy 62

HAYNESVILLE, La. — The Trinity Lady Saints will have to settle for a consolation prize in the MAIS South State Tournament, after losing to Claiborne Academy 62-32 Friday evening.

Trinity will play Tensas Academy at 2 p.m., and if the Lady Saints prevail they will clinch a Class A Tournament berth. The top three teams from the South State tournament advances to the tournament.

Trinity kept it close against Claiborne in the first quarter, down 13-6, but No. 3 Claiborne Academy pulled away in the second quarter, outscoring Trinity 23-4.

D’Asia Mitchell led the Lady Saints with 16 points, while Jasmine Ivory contributed eight in the loss.

Jefferson County 56,

Franklin County 41

MEADVILLE — With a 56-41 victory against Franklin County, the Jefferson County Lady Tigers sealed the No. 1 seed in the district tournament next week.

The Lady Tigers won’t find out who their opponent is until Sunday.

Of course, the contest between Franklin County and Jefferson County was tight for the better part of four quarters. Entering the fourth, Jefferson County lost a key contributor, Diamond Smith, to fouls with just a 32-31 lead.

“When Diamond went down last year, this same team was here, so it was like we were almost used to it,” Jefferson County head coach Flora McKnight said.

The team rallied without Smith available, and the Lady Tigers went on to outscore Franklin County 24-10 in the final period. Jefferson County started making more jump shots and created scoring opportunities with steals in the fourth quarter.

“I’m so glad to finish what they couldn’t do without Diamond last year,” McKnight said.

Antrell Gales led Jefferson County with 15 points, seven rebounds and three blocks, while Rekeijah Williams scored 13. Kailyn Hammett provided 12 in the victory.

Franklin County’s Jaylin Auhmann scored 10 in the loss, while Jada Hunt scored nine.