Scoreless 3rd quarter stops NC girls
Posted
A scoreless third quarter proved to be too tough to overcome as the Neshoba Central Lady Rockets were eliminated from the Class 5A girls state playoffs Saturday.
The Lady Rockets lost a 42-36 decision to Vicksburg in the quarterfinals. The game was played at Itawamba Community College in Fulton.
The Lady Rockets led 23-12 at the half. Then Neshoba Central's scoring went cold for the third quarter.
"They outscored us 19-0 in the third quarter," Coach Jerry Byrd said. "We couldn't find a way to score. We couldn't score from the free throw line. We missed layouts.
"We couldn't get a shot to go down. We weren't able to overcome their lead in the fourth quarter."
Hama'ya Fielder led the Lady Rockets in scoring with 17 points. Neshoba Central finished with a 13-11 record.
Byrd noted that all of the starters from this year's team would be returning.
"We got better as the year went along," said Byrd, who is coaching the girls team for the first time. "We had a better year then a lot of people thought we were going to have. And we made it to the quarter finals of the state tournament and that was something to be proud of.
"Judging by the locker room after the game, I don't think anyone was satisfied. Going forward, we realize we need to go back to work and keep improving."