Bouge Chitto made them earn it, but ultimately the West Lincoln girls’ basketball team again showed again that they are the top team in Region 7-2A with a 49-38 championship game victory on Friday at Loyd Star.

Coach Lane Young and West Lincoln moved to 22-5 as the Bears did not lose a region game in 2024-2025 in either the regular season or tournament.

Next up for the Bears is a first round 2A playoff matchup on Monday in Jack Case Gymnasium against Puckett High (14-10). The winner of that game will play the winner between Lake (11-8) and Richton (15-11) in the second round. Tipoff against Puckett is set for 6 p.m.

Bogue Chitto (13-8) and coach Marc Howard are also at home on Monday, hosting Pelahatchie (13-11). The winner of that game will play the winner of Scott Central (6-15) and Heidelberg (23-6) in the second round.

Bogue Chitto came out hot, going up 5-0 as the game was cleanly played through the first quarter in a gym that was completely packed on both sides with fans of the Lincoln County rivals.

The region title was the seventh in the last eight years for West Lincoln, but the first since Young came back to lead the program in his second stint coaching basketball at Flea Hop last season.

Each of those teams from the West Lincoln past had an identity which was separate from its predecessors.

This group of Bears plays together, doesn’t get too high or low, and looks comfortable when the game has a grinding, deliberate pace.

West Lincoln led 22-17 at halftime. The Bears were getting good looks that they couldn’t knock down early, but West Lincoln kept the lead between 6-10 points throughout the second half as Bogue Chitto tried to speed things up and claw back even.

Junior wing Chloe Sterling is the leading scorer for West Lincoln and was named Region 7-2A MVP after the game. Sterling finished with 14 points, but only four of those points came in the second half when she carried the offensive load early, as the Bears were patient in trying to get open shots against the Bobcat’s zone defense.

Senior guard Emma Quin provided the spark for West Lincoln in the third quarter as she scored six points in the eight-minute period. Eighth grade post player Ja’Kayla Hunter gave her team a boost in the fourth, scoring seven points in the final quarter.

Quin, senior point guard Maggy James, and sophomore forward Kylie Jarancik were named All-Region after the game.

Bogue Chitto was led by junior wing Destinee Thompson with 18 points. Thompson was named Region Offensive MVP. Her teammate, senior guard Neeli Magee was named Region Defensive MVP. Magee scored nine points and Bogue Chitto eighth grader Kilanah Haynes added 11 points. Senior Layla McKnight was also named to the All-Region team for the Bobcats.

For West Lincoln, Hunter finished with 11 points, Quin scored 10 points, James added six points, Jarancik scored eight points, and Elizabeth Burton scored two points for the Bears.

Loyd Star (11-12) won the consolation game by a final score of 49-37 over Amite County (3-20) to start the night. Members of the Hornets named to the All-Region team for coach Rusty Newman included sophomore Maddie Kate Britt, freshman Camille Creel, and junior Micah Claire Lowe.

The Hornets will hit the road on Monday to play at St. Andrew’s Episcopal (9-15) in Ridgeland. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. and the game will be the third meeting of the season between the teams as LS beat the Saints 47-39 on Nov. 26 and 40-39 on Dec. 10. The winner of SAE and Loyd Star will play the winner of Bay Springs (17-5) and North Forrest (12-14) in the second round.

MHSAA 2A first and second round games will be played on the home court of the higher seeds. The quarterfinals will be played at Jackson State University for 2A and the semifinals and finals will be played at the Mississippi Coliseum in Jackson.