The West Lowndes High School boys and girls basketball teams earned victories Thursday to advance to the title games of the Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) Class 1A, Region 6 tournament at West Lowndes High.
Jalen Brewer had a team-high 11 points to lead the top-seeded West Lowndes boys to a 43-37 victory against Vardaman.
Ariel Boswell had 14 points to lead the third-seeded West Lowndes girls to a 51-49 victory against second-seeded Hamilton.
The West Lowndes boys will play Noxapater, a 50-39 winner against Nanih Waiya, at 7:30 tonight.
The West Lowndes girls will play top-seeded Vardaman at 6 tonight.
This game was sweeter than usual for West Lowndes second-year coach Takia Bozeman because the Lady Panthers lost to the Lady Lions twice in the regular season.
“All through the year we tell them, ‘You have to play through the refs,’ ” Bozeman said. “We even practice it. When we’re playing, I rarely call fouls for them to get used to getting contact and not getting the calls.”
This game was a tale of two halves The first half featured physical defense, multiple turnovers, and a lot of free throws. Boswell was a constant threat on both sides of the ball. She provided efficient ball control to help keep the Lady Panthers in the game in the first half.
In the second half, West Lowndes trailed by three points entering the fourth quarter. The game remained tight into the final minutes, when Hamilton forward Deidra Keaton (13 points, 16 rebounds) fouled out. Keaton was a presence in the paint that kept the Lady Panthers from getting near the basket.
“We took the ball to her on offense,” Bozeman said. “Without her presence being there, we could drive the paint a little bit more.”
After Keaton fouled out, the game belonged to West Lowndes’ Ashanti Williams. She had three baskets in the last two-and-a-half minutes.
“For our post to get involved against any girls team at this level is very exciting, so when she got the post involved, the whole team wanted to play defense.” Bozeman said.
Shynice Watt (seven points) hit a free throw with six seconds left to seal the victory.
n In other playoff action, the Columbus Christian Academy boys basketball team beat Lee (Ark.) Academy in the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools (MAIS) Class A North State tournament.
Lawson Studdard had 19 points to lead the Rams. Nate Parker added 14. CCA will play DeSoto School at 7:45 tonight.
The CCA girls team lost to Marvell (Ark.) Academy on Thursday night. Statistics from the game weren’t available at press time.
Boys Soccer
n Starkville Academy 5, Magnolia Heights 0: At Starkville, Brody Pierce had two goals Thursday to lead the Volunteers in their regular-season finale.
Bates Bennett, Charlie Guest, and Carson Couch also scored for Starkville Academy.
Starkville Academy will play Indianola Academy on Monday in the first round of the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools (MAIS) Division III Championship.
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