By By Tony Krausz / assistant sports editor
June 10, 2004
Six area girls basketball teams took advantage of the chance to stay sharp on the hardwood Wednesday at Meridian Community College's Ivy Sports Complex.
Teams from Southeast Lauderdale, Northeast Lauderdale, Choctaw Central, Newton and Lake suited up for the first day of the Rush/MCC Shootout.
The games were played in 20-minute halves, and it gave the coaches a chance to see what their teams will look like in the 2004-05 season.
Southeast tangled with another Lady Tigers squad in Newton on the first day of the shootout. Newton won the game 35-32.
Whitney Thames led Newton's offensive efforts in the win over Southeast with 11 points, and Jessica Anderson added five.
Karmarshea Jones, Chotsanie Henderson and Tawayatha Evans each contributed four points in Newton's second win of the day. Newton defeated Lake 38-27 in the first game on Wednesday.
Incoming freshman Martika Ivy paced Southeast's offense with 11 points against Newton, and freshman Lucy Ruffin added nine points.
The game against Newton was the first time Southeast has returned to the basketball floor against an opponent since the team lost in the Class 3A Basketball State Championship semifinals to Ripley on March 8.
Southeast put a much different team on the floor than the one that went to Jackson last season, as five of the team's top six players graduated.
Choctaw 52
Bay Springs 49
Choctaw Central, which won the Class 3A state title last season, took its first game of the shootout down to the wire.
The Lady Warriors took a slim 22-20 lead into halftime against Lady Bulldogs of Bay Springs, but neither team could pull away in the second half.
Bay Springs took a 33-29 lead with 15:30 to play, breaking a 29-point tie, but Choctaw Central responded with four quick points to knot the score at 33.
The teams traded one- and two-point leads until the Lady Warriors' Shyatesa York knocked down a three-pointer to put her team up 44-41 with 9:41 to play.
Bay Springs cut Choctaw Central's lead which never got above three points to 50-49 with 14 seconds left in the game, but the Lady Warriors' Mystee Dale sealed the game at the foul-line to give Choctaw Central the three-point win.
Chantay Frazier led the Lady Warriors' offense with 13 points, and York added 10. Dale chipped in nine points, and Kristi and Kelly Willis each scored six points.
Modosha Strickland led Bay Springs' offense with 14 points, and Jasmine Payne added 10. Kristi Martin scored nine points, and Sandra McMillian chipped in eight.
Northeast 40
Choctaw 28
The Northeast Lauderdale Lady Trojans picked up a win in their first action of the summer, as they closed the first day of the shootout against Choctaw Central.
Shaquita Bell tallied a team-high 10 points for Northeast Lauderdale, and Todesha Clayton added six points. Trishanna Kennedy chipped in five points for the Lady Trojans, and Nikita Jenkins, Jalonda Coats and Calisa Serton each added four.
Deonna Isaac scored a game-high 13 points for Choctaw Central, and Shystesa York and Kelley Willis each scored four.
Newton 38
Lake 27
Henderson and Jones each scored eight points for the Lady Tigers in their opening game win over Lake.
Evans scored six points for Newton, and Anderson and Thames each chipped in four, as the Lady Tigers scored 19 points in each half.
Valrie Harris led Lake's offensive efforts with a game-high 17 points, and Arnita Lay added seven. Courtney Norris rounded out Lake's scoring with three points.
Bay Springs 30
Lake 26
Strickland tallied a game-high 15 points for Bay Springs to lead the Lady Bulldogs to victory over Lake. McMillan tallied six points for Bay Springs, and Martin scored three points.
Harris scored a team-high 14 points for Lake, and Lay tallied six. Norris and Drane Hunt rounded out the scoring with four and two, respectively.