Lady Warriors never gave up in title game loss

JACKSON — Trailing by 12 points with 2:47 left to play, the Choctaw Central Lady Warriors fought back to pull within two points of Pontotoc before dropping a 55-52 decision in the finals of the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 4A girls basketball tournament Thursday evening at the Mississippi Coliseum.

The Lady Warriors had a three-point shot at the buzzer bounce off the rim. Choctaw Central was 21-of 67 from the field for a shooting percentage of .313.

“We didn’t shoot well tonight and that was the difference,” Choctaw Central Coach Bill Smith said after the game. “We had a chance to jump on them and take a 20 point lead at the first of the game

“The first three-pointer we missed to start the game could have been the difference. It wasn’t that last shot; it was all of them. We missed layups and easy shots under the basket. It wasn’t our night,” Smith said.

The Lady Warriors carried a 22-19 lead in at halftime. But Pontotoc hit a quick pair of shots to start the second half and took the lead and never trailed again. Pontotoc would outscore Choctaw Central 17-4 in the third quarter and led 36-26 at the start of the fourth quarter.

Choctaw Central never gave up and with 17 seconds left, Lyleonia Johnson scored to make the score 54-52 in favor of Pontotoc.

Meloney Thames led the Lady Warriors with 22 points and Carly Keats scored 20.

“Our goal every year is to win the championship and tonight we came up a little short,” Smith said. “But in a few days, we’ll pick up and start to work on next season.”