STEENS — Standing on the left wing, a few feet behind the 3-point line, Audrey Foreman folded her arms over the basketball, shielding it from view.
A smile began to spread across her face.
Nearly 40 seconds remained in Wednesday’s MAIS Class 2A north state quarterfinal between Columbus Christian Academy and Marvell Academy (Arkansas), but the Rams senior and everyone in attendance already knew the outcome.
Columbus Christian was going back to the state tournament.
Foreman, allowed the privilege of running out the game clock, knew that well before those final seconds. She’d scored the game’s first 13 points as the Rams opened up a massive lead early. But at the end, with Columbus Christian a few brief moments away from a 61-35 victory over Marvell — the Rams’ first win over the Eagles that Foreman can remember — she took a moment to cherish it.
“Yeah, we did this,” Foreman thought to herself. “We finally beat them.”
It was a change of pace for a Columbus Christian team tired of the past postseason losses that always seemed to be Marvell’s doing. The Eagles beat the Rams in the north state tournament’s second round in 2018, the third round in 2019 and the second round again in 2020.
Foreman said Marvell always seemed to have a group of speedy players at its disposal. After last year’s loss, they moved on while the Rams returned a crop of seven seniors.
“We knew a bunch of them graduated, so we were ready to get on top of that and come out and play,” Foreman said.
That, the Rams did. From the start — motivated by last week’s close loss to Newton County Academy in the district tournament final — Columbus Christian came out firing. Foreman hit three free throws, two interior buckets and a pair of 3s as the Rams jumped out to a 13-0 lead. Only picking up her second foul with 2:02 left in the period prevented her from adding to her scoring totals, but it hardly mattered as Columbus Christian led 26-4 after the first quarter.
“For the past couple games, I hadn’t been able to make some shots,” Foreman said. “To be able to knock down some 3s and make some layups and free throws is just good to set the tone for everybody and get excited.”
But junior Morgan Whitten said she and her teammates knew they couldn’t afford to coast off that dominant period for the remaining 24 minutes. In tournament play, Whitten knows, that can lead to shocking losses.
“You have to be going 100 the whole game,” she said. “I was happy about that lead, but that meant nothing. You just keep playing like the score’s 0 to 0.”
Even if it had been scoreless after the first quarter, Columbus Christian would have come out on top. The Rams built on what they’d already done, stretching their lead to 29 points when Whitten banked in a 3 at the third-quarter buzzer and made a layup through contact early in the fourth quarter.
Ultimately, Columbus Christian headed for the locker room with a 26-point win. Jubilant screams and chants could be heard through the walls nearly 10 minutes after the Rams closed out the win.
Whitten said the celebration, while joyous, will be short lived. Columbus Christian will be back on the court soon, preparing for its north state semifinal at 4 p.m. Friday against Tunica Academy.
“We get to celebrate for that little period of time, and then after that, it’s on to the next,” Whitten said.
Tunica Academy boys 55, Columbus Christian Academy 17
While the Columbus Christian girls moved on to the second round of the north state tournament Wednesday, the Rams boys failed to do the same.
Columbus Christian fell victim to a 22-0 run by Tunica Academy in the first quarter en route to a 55-17 loss that ended CCA’s season.
After Rams senior Tyler Looney tied the game at 2-2 on a pair of early free throws, the Blue Devils seized control of the contest. Tunica led 18-2 after the first quarter and stretched its advantage to 24-2 before Jacob Minga hit a layup 51 seconds into the second quarter.
Columbus Christian trailed 43-13 at the half and managed just four points in the second half, all in the third quarter.
Rams coach Jason Williams said it’s been a tough season for a team that starts sophomores Drake Shaw and Jackson Howard as well as freshman Joe Michael Edwards. Columbus Christian lost several games at the buzzer this season, demoralizing defeats that hurt morale.
Still, the Rams fought hard in a loss to top-seeded Newton County Academy in their district semifinal, eventually finishing in fourth and last place in the district. That earned CCA a date with District 1 top seed Tunica, and the Devils were on their game as they ended the year for the Rams.
“I’m proud of the seniors and the way they showed class and integrity all season,” Williams said.
Lee Academy (Ark.) boys 60, Hebron Christian 51, Tuesday
The Hebron Christian boys lost their north state quarterfinal to Lee Academy (Arkansas) on Tuesday at Columbus Christian.
Dash Turman had 21 points to lead the Eagles, whose season is over.
Lee Academy (Ark.) girls 45, Hebron Christian 24, Tuesday
The Hebron girls were also eliminated by Lee (Arkansas) on Tuesday in Steens.
Lindsey Daniels had 11 points for the Eagles in the 45-24 loss. Elisha Carter had eight points.
Other scores
Prep Basketball
MHSAA Class 5A, Region 2 tournament — at Columbus High School
Grenada girls 53, West Point 44
The West Point girls were beaten 53-44 by Grenada in the third-place game of the Region 2-5A tournament on Wednesday in Columbus.
The Chargers will make the Class 5A playoffs, while the Green Wave’s season is over.
Grenada boys 80, West Point 28
The Green Wave boys lost 80-28 to Grenada in Wednesday’s 2-5A third-place game.
West Point’s season is over while the Chargers move on to the playoffs.
MHSAA Class 4A, Region 2 tournament — at Itawamba Community College
Pontotoc 86, Caledonia 38
The Caledonia boys couldn’t topple No. 1-seeded Pontotoc in Wednesday’s 2-4A semifinal, losing 86-38.
The Cavaliers qualified for the Class 4A playoffs with Tuesday’s win over South Pontotoc and await their assignment. Caledonia will play Itawamba Agricultural in the third-place game at 4:30 p.m. Friday.
MAIS Class 4A north state tournament — at Pillow Academy
Bayou Academy boys 55, Heritage Academy 44
The Heritage Academy boys were knocked out of the MAIS Class 4A north state tournament with a 55-44 loss to Bayou Academy on Wednesday in Greenwood.
The Colts advance to face Starkville Academy in Friday’s semifinal.
MAIS Class 3A north state tournament — at Kirk Academy
Oak Hill Academy girls 45, Marshall Academy 41
The Oak Hill Academy girls punched their ticket to the MHSAA Class 3A tournament with a 45-41 win over Marshall Academy in Wednesday’s north state quarterfinal in Grenada.
Mary Beth Briggs scored 11 points to lead the Raiders, and Morgan Dabbs added 10. Carley Wooten had seven points, Raylee Craven had five, and McKenzie Middleton had four.
Oak Hill will play North Delta School at 3 p.m. Friday.
Oak Hill Academy boys 60, Lee Academy 56
The Oak Hill boys edged Lee Academy 60-56 in Wednesday’s quarterfinal game.
Oak Hill will face Marshall Academy at 6:10 p.m. Friday.
AISA Class A final four — at Cramton Bowl, Montgomery, Ala.
Evangel Christian Academy (Ala.) boys 59, Pickens Academy (Ala.) 49
The Pickens Academy (Alabama) boys’ season came to an end Wednesday in the AISA final four in Montgomery.
The Pirates lost to Evangel Christian Academy (Alabama) 59-49.
Pickens ended the season with a 10-7 record.
Pickens Academy (Ala.) girls 46, Evangel Christian Academy (Ala.) 26
The Pickens girls will be playing for a state championship after beating Evangel Christian 46-26 on Wednesday in Montgomery.
The Pirates will take on Abbeville Christian Academy (Alabama) at 10 a.m. Tuesday.
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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