Basketball playoffs resume today
By By Marty Stamper / EMG sports assistant
Feb. 17, 2003
It seems like there's no rest for the weary as both MHSAA and MPSA basketball tournament action picks up tonight.
In MHSAA games, the girls take the center stage with the boys slated to play their first round North/South State games on Tuesday. All games have 7 p.m. tipoffs.
The MPSA Class A State Tournament begins today at Greenville Christian School with six area teams in the 24-team event.
In public school action tonight, the only 5A contest involving an area team has the 22-6 Wayne County Lady War Eagles hosting Long Beach, 23-6. Long Beach won the Enterprise tournament in early January.
In Class 4A, Northeast Lauderdale's 21-7 Lady Trojans host Laurel, 12-15, while Louisville, 23-6, hosts Canton, 20-8.
Dan Stegall's Lady Trojans of Northeast extended their 20-win season string to four by beating Mendenhall in last week's Division 5-4A semifinals. Laurel is led by first-year head coach Ryakko Macon. She has 10 players back from last year's 16-11 squad. Four Lady Tornadoes scored in double figures in a 63-59 semifinal victory over Picayune in overtime in the Division 7-4A Tournament. Senior guard/forward Sharon Blankenship had 17 points,with senior forward Latoya Anderson adding 15.
Class 3A play finds West Lauderdale's 27-3 Lady Knights hosting Wilkinson County, 12-19, and Choctaw Central's 25-7 Lady Warriors heading to Summit to take on North Pike, 21-6.
North Pike got 20 points from LaQuita Ard in its 57-39 rout of Wilkinson in the 7-3A championship game. Ard had 32 points in a semifinal win over Hazlehurst. The Lady Jaguars have no seniors on their roster.
Latasha Williams had 18 points for Wilkinson in the title game loss.
In Class 2A, Newton, hosts Sumrall, 17-8, and Bay Springs, 26-4, hosts South Leake, 18-12.
In Class 1A, Lake, 21-4, hosts Mize, while Sebastopol, 20-7, travels to Dexter, 24-2.
In the MPSA Class A Girls' State Tournament at Greenville, Heidelberg Academy, 20-14, faces Porter's Chapel at 4 p.m. today, with Winston Academy, 20-12, meeting Central Holmes at 7 p.m. In the boys' side of the bracket, today's action finds Wayne Academy, 13-12, taking on Plain Dealing at 5:30 p.m. and Winston, 20-8, squaring off with Briarfield at 8:30.
The Class A Central champion Kemper Academy Lady Rams, 23-10, will be off until Thursday when they take on the Deer Creek-East Holmes winner at 4 p.m.
The Class A Central champion Heidelberg Rebels, 26-6, are also off until Thursday when they face the Glenbrook-Lee (Ark.) winner.
MHSAA boys' action cranks up Tuesday night with Wayne County, 21-3, hosting defending Class 5A state champion Gulfport, 22-8, in the lone area 5A matchup.
In Class 4A, Northeast Lauderdale, 20-11, hosts Laurel, 18-9, and Quitman, 14-13, visits Picayune, 28-2, in South half action. The North half finds a father-son matchup set for Macon when T.J. Billups' Noxubee County Tigers, 20-8, host his father, Thomas Billups, and the Lanier Bulldogs, 27-3.
Leading Laurel is 41-year coaching veteran Wilson Terrell who has already announced his retirement. Six-foot-4 Dericco Barlow is the Tornadoes' tallest player.
In 3A play, West Lauderdale, 25-4, goes to Fayette to meet Jefferson County, 15-11, while Choctaw Central, 25-6, hosts Hazlehurst, 21-8.
Jefferson County was the No. 5 seed in the Division 7-3A tournament, but it didn't keep the Tigers from winning the championship as they knocked off Hazlehurst 59-41 in the finals. A switch to a 1-3-1 defense which was seldom used by the Tigers in the regular season paid off handsomely in the division tournament. Having 6-foot-8 center Juan Wright didn't hurt.
Hazlehurst also has a 6-foot-8 player in center Tarrance Harris. Choctaw Central will get one break as guard Steve A. Harris suffered a broken wrist in the division tournament.
In Class 2A, Kemper County, 17-13, hosts Bay Springs, 14-16, in a rematch of a Feb. 1 contest which Kemper won 77-70 at Newton.
The lone 1A pairing finds Lake, 16-8, heading to Puckett, 15-1.
In the Academy AA State Tournament at Brookhaven Academy, the Leake Academy Rebelettes put a 37-2 record and a 21-game win streak on the line when they meet Centreville Academy, 15-13, in first-round action. Leake hammered Marvell (Ark.) 53-33 in Saturday's North State championship with Greggina Tadlock scoring 19 points and Laurin Gross adding 16.
If all goes as expected, the Leake girls would meet Brookhaven, 35-1, in Saturday's championship contest.
The Leake Rebels, 30-6, had a 14-game win streak snapped when they lost 96-73 to West Memphis in the AA North State championship on Saturday. The Leake boys open the state tournament with Central Hinds, 25-7. Leake went 0-2 against Central Hinds in the regular season.
