Laurel KO’s Brookhaven, WJ thumps West Harrison to advance to Final Four
•
Picayune ousts West Jones boys
•
The Laurel and West Jones girls’ teams are on the brink of an all-Jones County Class 5A girls’ basketball championship game after both won quarterfinal matchups Friday at Pearl River Community College.
The Lady Tornadoes (19-8) are scheduled to play the Callaway Lady Chargers (26-6) at 4 p.m. today (Tuesday)at the Mississippi Coliseum in Jackson. That game will be followed by West Jones (27-2) against Lafayette (23-6) at 5:30 p.m. The winners will meet Friday for the state championship.
On Friday, it was all about Jones County, West Jones coach Sharon Murray said.
“Tonight was about Jones County coming together and cheering each other on,” she said. “We were in the stands cheering on Laurel through their game, and our fans cheered theirs on. And during our game, their cheerleaders stuck around and cheered us on. Today was a great day for Jones County as a whole.”
In Friday’s opener, Laurel’s goal was to stop Brookhaven’s 6-foot, 3-inch, 255-pound center Leah Wilcher.
The plan worked to perfection as the Lady Tornadoes held Wilcher to one point in a 51-45 victory over the Lady Panthers (26-5).
Laurel freshman Zy’kariah Evans scored a team-high 18 points in the victory.
“Zy has come out of her shell this season,” junior point guard Marissa Ulmer said. “We would always have to tell her, ‘Take her, Zy. She can’t guard you.’ Now, she attacks any chance she gets, and that has made her unstoppable.”
Trailing 21-18 at halftime, Laurel outscored Brookhaven 15-10 in the third quarter. Laurel led throughout the fourth quarter, including hitting 9 of 12 free throws.
“I felt good,” Evans said. “My teammates and I have worked hard so we had to win. I am glad I was able to show up and help us secure a spot in Jackson.”
The Tornadoes went 20-for-32 at the free-throw line.
“It feels great knowing that we overcame all the odds from others doubting us,” Ulmer said. “People said that we weren’t going to make it out of the playoffs. I’m going into these last two games with a chip on my shoulder. I have nothing to lose, and we will most definitely be back again next year.”
In the second game, West Jones showed why it’s been one of the toughest teams in the state with a 50-29 victory over West Harrison (21-9).
Senior Hailie Keyes scored a team-high 21 points as the Lady Mustangs jumped out to a 26-16 lead at halftime and never looked back.
“The girls have bought in to defense so well this season, and Hailee played such a good game tonight,” Murray said. “I can’t take anything away from any player tonight. We shared the ball well and shot well. Tonight was a great all-around performance.”
(B) Picayune 62, WJ 42
West Jones went into halftime tied with Picayune 21-21, but the Maroon Tide run away in the second half to advance to the Class 5A state semifinals.
“Tonight I thought we played a good game, the shots just weren’t falling,” West Jones boys’ head coach Regis Huddleston said. “I hate to say that this team made history after not going all the way, but it’s true. This is the furthest a West Jones team has been since 1996.
“We got the first playoff victory since then. In my first year here, everyone wrote us off. I’m a young coach and this team doesn’t have a history of being a great basketball program, so doing the things we did this season is a great way to start here.”
The Mustangs won just one of their regional games during the regular season but got hot at the right time.
“These seniors gave me everything they had this season,” Huddleston said. “These guys have shown just how talented they are, and I’m really proud of them. Two of them are going to Jones to play football and they are going to be damn good football players. From Day 1, when I met Kennon (Loftin), I knew he was going to be the leader.
“Marlon (Lindsey) led, but he was more the quiet leader, showing what to do by example. Marsa (Watson) was just a much-needed bucket. Any time we needed a play, he was the guy we went to. Shawn (Keyes) was the energy for this team. You can tell from the start of the season to now how much more energetic, and a large part of that was Shawn coming back from injury. He got hurt at the end of the football season, and he makes a huge impact just from the type of kid he is.”
Loftin led WJ with 13 points and he grabbed 14 rebounds.
“We played a great game, but Picayune was just the better team tonight,” Huddleston said.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7rbHAnZyrZZOWua16wqikaKaVrMBwstGenJimlazAcLvNZquoZaSdsm6uyKBkoaelqLJwrdGtoJyklZSDd4TCa2ptcF2Xg6WEjGponpxdl4ZzsYyenWtqYm2DdoXEbGtnoKSiuQ%3D%3D