CLINTON — Swayze Black of Brookhaven produced a strongperformance Saturday in the Mississippi Association of CoachesAll-Star Girls Basketball Game. Black was named Most ValuableDefensive Player after scoring 7 points, grabbing 6 rebounds andblocking 3 shots.

However, Black and her teammates couldn’t match the North’soverall talent level and offensive production as the South lost66-49 in A.E. Wood Coliseum located on the Mississippi Collegecampus.

“I enjoyed the game and I was looking forward to it,” said the6-foot-1 Black, herself a rising senior like the other all-stars.”It was an honor to play in it. We had a good team and learned howto work together.”

Ka’Neshia Smith, a 5-9 forward from Class 1A Pisgah in RankinCounty, led the South with 15 points. Martika Ivy, a 5-11 centerfrom Southeast Lauderdale, added 10 points.

An estimated crowd of 2,500 watched the North’s marquee player,April Sykes of East Oktibbeha, direct the North’s victory with 12points. The 6-foot Sykes displayed a special athletic talent withher passing and dribbling skills. Recognized as one of the topprospects in the 2008 senior class, Sykes was the game’s MostValuable Offensive Player. She also was awarded the game ball forselling the most ads in the program.

“April is an awesome player,” was the assessment provided byBlack. Sykes won the 3-point field competition which was heldFriday night.

LaSondra Barrett, a 6-footer from Jackson Murrah, provided theNorth with a game-high 17 points plus 9 rebounds. She was therecipient of the Sportsmanship Award.

West Lincoln’s Lane Young and Scott Central’s Chad Harrisonserved as co-coaches for the South girls. They held some intensepractice sessions which began Thursday evening. The North team washeavily favored due to the presence of Sykes and Barrett who areboth in the national spotlight.

“We had our chances but we turned it over a few times,” saidYoung. “Offensively, we couldn’t feed the ball inside. The Northplayed good defense.”

Young praised the multi-talented Sykes who often wore a smileduring the game. “Sykes is a real good player. She can be as goodas she want to be. The sky is the limit.”

A large contingent of college basketball coaches were visible inthe crowd, among them Stephanie Smith of Alabama and Van Chancellorof LSU.

Harrison roared instructions and encouragement during the game.The South started in a full-court pressure defense but the North’sguards were able to split the seams.

“We wanted to press but after five minutes, we knew our kidscouldn’t do it,” said Harrison. “In the second half, we wanted todefend aggressively. We just couldn’t get over the hump onoffense.”

The South was slowed by 23 turnovers, committing 13 the firsthalf. The North built a 13-point, 27-14 lead at the 6:40 mark ofthe 20-minute first half. The South only made 8 of 29 field goalattempts in the first half and 11 of 19 from the charity line.

Coached by Shayne Linzy of Water Valley and Jackie Suggett ofMadison Central, the North’s overall strength began assertingitself in the final 20 minutes of action. Veronica Walker, a6-footer from Indianola Gentry; 6-4 Sasha Goodlett of Clinton and6-1 Ashley Daniels of Coldwater dominated the inside game.

Harrison praised Black’s effort during the game and in practice.”Swayze has a lot of potential. She was team captain and a leaderfor us. She’s a Division I player.”

Na’corean (Nikki) Byrd of Brookhaven was a late arrival forall-star practice due to her involvement with the Jackson-basedMississippi Lady Tigers, an AAU team competing in the nationaltournament in Atlanta. They finished sixth in the 90-teamtourney.

“Byrd got here late (Friday) and we had to get her a physical(exam),” said Harrison. “She said she wasn’t feeling good. Her backand legs were hurting.”

Byrd was limited to 2 rebounds and zero points.

“It was fun and it was a learning experience,” said the 6-2Byrd. “I got to play with some new people.”

Asked about her back ailment, Byrd said she had been under goingtreatment for what was believed to have been a strained muscle, butit was discovered that the injury was skeletal and involved herspine. “It’s just something I’m going to have to live with.”

With the victory, the North reduced the South’s lead to 22-21 inthe 43-year-old series, winning for the fourth straight year.