Here’s a look at how area teams faired in MHSAA girls’ basketball first round games played on Monday around the state.

West Lincoln 59, Nanih Waiya 15

West Lincoln rolled to a 40-13 halftime advantage on Monday in Jack Case Gymnasium to race past Nanih Waiya in the opening round of the MHSAA 2A State Tournament.

Next up for West Lincoln (25-1) and coach Alissa Adams is a home game with Pelahatchie High (15-9) on Friday at 6 p.m.

Senior guard Kara Beth Addison scored 30 points in just three quarters to lead West Lincoln against Nanih Waiya.

Senior Mary Claire Johnson made sure West Lincoln fans wouldn’t have anything to worry about by making four first quarter 3-pointers. Johnson finished with 17 points in the win. Senior Madilyn Case added five points, junior guard Preslee Rushing scored three points and senior forward Ta’Kyla Brothern chipped in two points for West Lincoln as did senior guard Ramsey Hall.

Brookhaven High 60, Pearl River Central 32

Nine different players got in the scoring column for Brookhaven High on Monday night in a home win over Pearl River Central to kick off the MHSAA 5A State Tournament.

Junior forward Aliyah Watkins led the Panthers with 19 points and was followed by senior guard Angel “Cookie” Wilkinson with 17 points.

BHS led just 16-14 at halftime before being able to open up the pace of the game in the second half.

Coach Preston Wilson and his Panthers are 25-4 on the season and three of those loses came against their region rivals from West Jones.

Brookhaven will be favored again when they hit the road on Friday to play in the second round at Gautier High  (16-12). 

Gautier traveled to Brookhaven for a playoff game in 2021 and lost 72-31 to the Panthers.

Senior center Leah Wilcher scored nine points in the win over PRC. Other scorers for BHS in that win were Raven Smith with four points, Zaniya Nunnery with three points, Balee Gamble with two points, Kema Roberts with two points, Alexis Kelly scored two points and Maleah Smtih added two points.

Bogue Chitto 68, Newton High 55

Junior center De’Mya Porter was a one-woman wrecking crew on Monday against visiting Newton High.

Porter scored 38 points, including 14 points in the fourth quarter alone, to lead BC to the second round of the MHSAA 2A Playoffs.

Junior forward Ty May had a big game too with 18 points for BC coach Marc Howard. Freshman Destinee Thompson pitched in six points and sophomore Neeli Magee added six points herself.

BC is 14-9 this season and will be on the road at Velma Jackson (20-10) in the second round.

VJ has won 10 games in a row and is led by senior Cayla Myers, a lanky guard that was region player of the year, has signed with Coahoma CC and scored 29 points for VJ last season in a playoff loss at West Lincoln.

Bogue Chitto will travel to play at Velma Jackson on Saturday as both teams from the school are scheduled to meet in the second round.

Lake High 77, Loyd Star 44

The homestanding Lake Hornets won their 20th game of the season on Monday with a victory over Loyd Star in the opening round of the MHSAA 2A State Tournament.

Lake is the defending 2A state champions and are under the direction of first year head coach Holly Moncrief. Moncrief came over from Puckett to replace Maurice Bowie, who left Lake after the championship run to coach the boys’ team at his alma mater, Morton High.

Loyd Star ends the season with an 8-18 record for first year head coach Russell Cruise. Seniors on the roster for Cruise include Alyssa Leggett, Carson Hughey and Marley Britt. 

Noxapater 49, Enterprise 42

The 2022-2023 season came to an end on the road for Enterprise with a close loss to Noxapater High on Monday in Winston County.

Coach Shane Adams had three seniors on his EAC team this season in Hannah Jergins, Mallory Honea and Ellie Davis.

Noxapater (16-6) moves on to face Taylorsville in the second round of the MHSAA 1A playoffs. Enterprise ends the season with a 4-13 overall record.

Morton 65, Wesson 14

With an overall record of 23-3, Morton High is a title contender in 3A girls’ basketball and showed just what they’re capable of by streaking past Wesson on Monday in the first round of the MHSAA 3A State Tournament.

Wesson plays in Region 7-3A, which was won by a Franklin County team that didn’t lose a region game this season.

Morton boat raced FC when the schools met back on Dec. 6 by a 59-17 final score.

The Cobras finish with a 14-12 overall record under coach Michelle Nunnery and do not have a senior on their roster.

Morton will face St. Patrick High (18-11) in the second round.

Mendenhall 50, Lawrence County 46

Visiting Mendenhall (10-15) got its second win of the season over Lawrence County (14-13) in the first round of the MHSAA 4A State Playoffs on Monday in Monticello.

MHS had beaten Lawrence County 35-28 at home when the teams met on Dec. 6.

Mendenhall moves on to play at North Pike (19-11) in the 4A second round.

Coach Candice McDuffey and Lawrence County went 14-12 this season and were 9-1 in Region 7-4A play during the regular season and won the region tournament with a 47-42 win over Sumrall.