Choctaw Central teams enter region tournament

The Choctaw Central Lady Warriors enter post-season play Thursday at 4 p.m. in the semi-final round of the Region 4-4A basketball tournament.

The Lady Warriors will play the winner between Leake Central and Northeast Lauderdale which played earlier in the week in an elimination game. The tournament will be held at Northeast Lauderdale High School.

The Lady Warriors stand at 24-4. They went undefeated in region play.

“It’s do or die time now,” Coach Bill Smith said. “Our losses came against four of the best five teams in the state. We have worked hard to get ready for post-season. Now it is here.”

Choctaw Central closed out the regular season last week with three victories. They defeated West Lauderdale 78-24, Northeast Lauderdale 70-36 and Louisville 72-61.

The Choctaw Central boys also went undefeated last week. They defeated West Lauderdale 46-30, Northeast Lauderdale 57-51, and Louisville 61-59.

The Warriors finished the regular season with an 18-10 record. They finished third in the region standings. They will open region play Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. against West Lauderdale.



Lady Warriors 78

West Lauderdale 24

The Lady Warriors went up 49-7 over West Lauderdale and held on for the win.

Shantashia John led with 18 points while Leilaya McMillan added 15.

Lady Warriors 70

NE Lauderdale 36

The Lady Warriors put the game away in the third quarter as they took another region win.

Northeast Lauderdale led 13-10 after the first quarter. The Lady Warriors came back to outscore the Lady Trojans 17-6 in the second quarter and led 27-19 at the half. The Lady Warriors then outscored Northeast Lauderdale 43-17 in the second half to take the win.

John led the Lady Warriors with 16 points and Jamae Wright added 10.



Lady Warriors 72

Louisville 61

After a close first half, the Lady Warriors pulled away for Louisville in the second half.

Choctaw Central led 17-15 at the end of the first quarter. The Lady Warriors outpointed the Lady Wildcats 19-13 in the second quarter and went up 36-28 at the half.

Choctaw Central outscored the Lady Wildcats 19-12 in the third quarter and led 55-40 heading into the final quarter. Louisville fought back in the final quarter, outscoring Choctaw Central 21-17 in the final quarter. But the Lady Warriors held on for the victory.

John and Meloney Thames both scored 16 points to lead the Lady Warriors. Tia’Rain Saunders added 15 points while Lyleonia Johnson scored 14 points.