Lady Warriors advance in state Class 4A playoffs
The Choctaw Central Lady Warriors have advanced to the third round of the state Class 4A playoffs after sweeping through the opening rounds. The Lady Warriors will play Pontotoc Friday starting at 5:30 p.m. The game will be played at Mississippi Valley State University in Atta Bean.
Choctaw Central enters the game with a 28-4 record while Pontotoc comes in at 29-3.
"We are taking them one game at a time," Coach Bill Smith said. "We are playing for the Class 4A championship for the first time and the competition is tough every night. Pontotoc has a good post player and a Dandy Dozen guard so they are going to be a challenge."
It was business as usual for the Lady Warriors in the first two rounds. They knocked off Itawamba AHS 65-29 in the first game and Tishomingo County 61-41 in the second round.
The Choctaw Central boys opened the first round of the playoffs with a 61-60 victory over Mooreville last Tuesday night. They were eliminated from the playoffs in the second round by Ripley 66-50. The Warriors ended the season with a 22-11 record.
Lady Warriors
The Lady Warriors started the playoffs by going up 30-4 on Itawamba AHS after the first quarter. Choctaw Central led 49-11 at the half.
Meloney Thames led the Lady Warriors with 15 points and Kyla Farmer added 11 points.
Tishomingo County proved to be a bit more of a challenge for the Lady Warriors, at least for a half.
Leading 12-7 after the first quarter, the Lady Warriors outscored Tishomingo County 12-11 in the second quarter to take a 24-18 halftime lead.
Choctaw Central would settle the issue in the third quarter as they outscored Tishomingo County 21-9 and carried a 45-27 lead into the final quarter.
Tia'Rain Saunders led with 14 points. Leilaya McMillan and Thames both scored 12 points while Shantashia John added 11 points.
Coach Smith said this would be a normal week of practice in anticipation of Friday's game with Pontotoc.
The winner advances to the semifinals Monday at the Coliseum in Jackson, tipping off at 5:30 p.m. The winner plays the winner between Ripley and Northeast Lauderdale.
Warriors
The Choctaw Central boys opened the playoffs with a one-point win over Mooreville.
Mooreville went up 17-11 after the first quarter. Choctaw Central came back, outscoring Mooreville 21-17 in the second quarter. At the half, Mooreville held a 34-32 lead
The Warriors outscored Mooreville 16-10 and lead 48-44 heading into the final stanza. Mooreville fought back, outscoring the Warriors 16-13 in the final eight minutes of play. But the Warriors held on for the win.
Ocavious Jones led with 18 points. Treundes Willis added 12 points. William McKinney scored nine points and Kashden Bell scored eight points.
Ripley took control of the second round game in the second quarter and held on for the victory.
Choctaw Central led 15-9 after the first quarter. Ripley came back in the second quarter, outscoring the Warriors 22-7, and led 31-16 at the half.
Both teams scored 12 points in the third quarter. Ripley outpointed the Warriors 23-16 in the final stanza and took the win.
Willis led with 23 points while Jones scored 12 and Isom put in eight points.
"I hated the way it ended but we had a good season," Coach Brent Farmer said. "We won more than 20 games and make it to the second round of the playoffs. That's not a bad year."