The Loyd Star Lady Hornets enter the MHSAA Class I playoffs as the top seed out of Region 7 and with the momentum that comes along with a 16-4 overall record.

Coach Jordan Lea’s team took a 4-0 victory over Wesson on Thursday. They’ll host Morton High on Monday, Jan. 24 at 5:30 p.m. in a first-round matchup at the Hansel King Sports Complex.

The victory over Wesson clinched the region championship for Loyd Star, the first since the 2015-2016 season for the school.

Junior Mary Claire McCurley led the way against Wesson with two goals and one assist. Brooke Cade and Maya Wyant chipped in one goal each and Abby Burnette notched an assist for LS.

McCurley, the reigning Daily Leader All-Area MVP, now sits at 33 goals scored on the season.

“This team has worked their tails off since this past summer,” said Lea about his squad. “Working day in and day out to get better. I knew from the very beginning that we had a chance to do something special and tonight it came to fruition. We told them at the beginning of the game that if they wanted to be region champs, then they needed to play like region champs — and that’s exactly what they did.”

Loyd Star will enter their matchup against Morton as favorites — the Lady Panthers are 2-10 at press time.

Franklin County, the Region 7 runners-up, will play at Clarkdale in the opening round. The winner of Loyd Star’s first round match moves on to play the winner between McLaurin (5-4-1) and Our Lady Academy (7-5-2) in a second-round pairing on Jan. 29.