CLINTON – Brookhaven Academy coach Barry Gray turned up thefull-court pressure Tuesday night and his Lady Cougars respondedwith a 58-31 rout against the Bayou Academy Lady Colts. The LadyCougars got 15 points from Terah Winborne, 13 from Laura BethWright and 12 from Anna Lofton as they passed their first test inthe MPSA Overall Tournament with flying colors.

The Lady Cougars (36-6) meet Class AAA state champion EastRankin tonight at 6 in Mississippi College’s A.E. Wood Coliseum.The BA boys (30-9) meet Jackson Academy tonight at 7:15 in thequarterfinals.

In other opening round girls action, Hillcrest Christian whippedTensas (La.) 63-44, Marshall edge Marvell (Ark.) 42-39 and OakForest eliminated Jackson Prep 45-39.

In boys action, JA whipped Tunica 75-42, Riverdale (La.) oustedBowling Green 55-43, Delta eliminated Chamberlain-Hunt 74-56 andPillow edged Clarksdale Lee 64-60.

“I was very well pleased with the way we started things off,”said Coach Gray. “We put pressure on Bayou early to set the tonefor us.”

Gray’s girls built a 25-11, first-quarter lead and led 39-18 athalftime.

“Our press hurt them in the first half,” said Gray. “We shot theball really well. I hope we can carry the same tempo intotomorrow’s game because East Rankin is a very good team. It shouldbe more of a challenge.”

On Nov. 22, East Rankin beat the Lady Cougars 58-31 atPelahatchie.

Against Bayou, the Cougars forced 26 turnovers. Winborne had 5steals, 5 rebounds and 3 assists in the win. Sophomore center AnnaKatelyn Mangold’s 7 rebounds led BA to a 37-28 advantage on thebackboards.

Gray’s girls shot 45 percent from the field compared to Bayou’s28 percent.

“Brookhaven Academy has a good team,” said Bayou coach MikeJohnson. “They are well-coached, well-disciplined and veryquick.

“We just didn’t show up to play,” Johnson added. “Overall, wehad a good season.”

Bayou (27-6), the runner-up out of the Class A State Tournament,got 7 points from Taylor Hackney.