Lady Rams headed to championship battle

By By Marty Stamper/EMG sports assistant
February 8, 2003
BAY SPRINGS The Kemper Academy Lady Rams struggled with Wayne Academy during the regular season, losing both contests.
Kemper again had its troubles with the Lady Jaguars in Friday's semifinal game in the Academy 3-A Tournament at Sylva Bay Academy before a late 11-0 run sent the Lady Rams to tonight's championship game with a 38-28 victory over Wayne.
The Lady Rams will face Winston Academy, a 27-26 victor over top-seeded Heidelberg Academy, at 7 p.m.
The boys' championship is set for 8:30 with Winston taking on top-seeded Heidelberg. Winston defeated Wayne 60-41, while Heidelberg beat Newton County Academy 56-37 in semifinal action.
Consolation games begin at 4 p.m.
Wayne led Kemper 6-2 at the end of the first quarter and held a 17-8 lead late in the first half before the Lady Rams got a pair of 3-pointers. Leslie Beach hit the first trey, while Kayla Mosley connected from near midcourt as the horn sounded to trim Wayne's lead to 17-14 at the break.
Mosley converted a three-point play with 4:07 to go in the third period to pull Kemper even at 19-19. After Wayne scored the next four points, Kemper rallied to within 23-22 to end the third quarter.
Holding a slim 27-26 advantage, Kemper then reeled off the next 11 points as Wayne couldn't score for nearly five minutes.
During the run, Eve Darnell hit 4-of-7 free throws and Blair Johnson made a basket and two free throws. The biggest tally may have been a 3-pointer from Libby Myers that gave Kemper a 32-26 lead in a game where points were sparse.
Kemper, 19-10, got 10 points from Mosley, eight from Johnson, seven from Darnell, and six from Beach. Mosley had seven rebounds, while Darnell and Johnson both had six. Johnson had four steals with Beach getting four assists.
Wayne, 16-7, got 11 points from Christen Palmer and eight from Erin Wood.
Winston boys 60
Wayne 41
The Patriots advanced to the finals as they outscored Wayne 52-28 over the final three periods after spotting the Jaguars an early 13-8 lead.
Winston, 18-6, was led by Justin Eaves' 20 points, 16 of which came in the first half as the Patriots took a 29-24 lead. Winston also got 14 points from Brandon Jennings, nine from Taylor Paschal, and six from Jon Duncan.
Wayne, 11-10, got 19 points from Patton Stanley, eight from Garet James, and six from Alex Brewer.
Winston girls 27
Heidelberg 26
Whitney Whiteside snapped a 26-26 tie with 3.8 seconds remaining as fifth-seeded Winston pulled its second upset of the tournament.
Winston was 7-of-15 at the free-throw line, while Heidelberg was just 3-of-14.
Winston led the low-scoring battle 7-4 after one quarter and took an 11-9 lead into halftime. Heidelberg rallied to take a 19-18 edge into the fourth quarter with Courtney Thomas and Katie Barnett each getting two baskets for the Lady Rebels in the third period.
Winston regained the lead at 24-23 on a pair of free throws by Lindsey Hill with 3:05 left. After Jennifer Barnett tied the game on a free throw with 2:12 showing, Winston's Tracey Whitehead scored on a layup to give the Lady Patriots a 26-24 lead with 1:28 to go.
Heidelberg quickly tied the contest at 26-26, setting the stage for Whiteside in the final seconds.
Winston, 18-10, got eight points each from Whiteside and Erin Ard, five from Hope Estes, and four from Whitehead.
Heidelberg, 18-12, got eight points from Katie Barnett, seven from Thomas, and five from Suzanne Lightsey.
Heidelberg boys 56
Newton County 37
The top-seeded Rebels improved to 22-6 with the 19-point win. Heidelberg led 11-8 after one quarter, 29-13 at halftime, and 38-19 through three periods.
The Rebels got 12 points from Blake Bass, 10 each from Dan Edwards and Lloyd Windham, and seven from Kyle Johnston.
NCA, 8-13, got 14 points from Bud Loper, nine from Wil Bean, and seven from John Shellenback.