JACKSON — One big quarter was all Starkville needed to book their ticket back to the state title game.
The Yellow Jackets used a big fourth quarter to rally past Biloxi, 41-34, in the Semifinal Round of the MHSAA Girls Class 7A basketball playoffs at the Mississippi Coliseum on Tuesday night.
Starkville (28-3) will face Harrison Central for the Class 7A state championship on Friday night at 6 p.m.
“We did a good job in the zone because they did such a good job of running so many sets no matter how much we game plan, so the 2-2-1 press worked in the second half,” Starkville coach Matt Wilbanks said. “We did a good job of using our length and once we got a shot to fall the momentum switched to us and we kept it.”
Like last year, Biloxi led for the first three quarters.
The Lady Indians held an 8-6 lead at the end of the first quarter and used a 10-0 run midway through the second quarter to extend their lead to 21-13. Biloxi held a 23-17 halftime lead.
The Jackets kept cutting into the lead in the third quarter, but Biloxi led 32-27 heading into the fourth quarter.
In the final quarter, Starkville held Biloxi to just one basket. The Jackets got a three-pointer from Logan Warren with 5:52 left in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 32-32.
After Zaniya Johnson made the only basket for the Lady Indians, the Lady Jackets ended the game on a 9-0 run to seal the game. Zariah Brown’s lay-up with 2:13 left gave Starkville a 36-34 lead. Morgan Williams sealed the game with a lay-up with 22 seconds left.
Defensively, Starkville held Johnson to just six points.
“I think we’re only one of the very few teams in the state that has enough big bodies to get around here, but I think we did a good job of communicating on defense and making things really hard on her,” Wilbanks said. “I can’t say enough good things about Jada. She makes us go and she was big when we needed her. Harrison Central is a really good team, so we got our hands full.”
Southern Miss signee Jada Gay had a game-high 20 points to lead Starkville while Jade Brown added nine points for the Lady Jackets.
“We started a little slow and after that we got locked in and we did a great job communicating on defense. It was hard defending Zaniya, but in the end, we came out with the win,” Gay said. “We’re back in the game we lost last year, so it’s no choice we got to go win.”
Jayla Carriere had 15 points to lead Biloxi (30-2).
“Two years in a row we’ve had a fourth-quarter meltdown,” said Biloxi coach Devin Hill. “We do everything we want to do for three quarters and it stings, but we will be back.”
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