BOGUE CHITTO – The Bogue Chitto Lady Cats overcame a tough firsthalf to pounce on the East Oktibbeha Lady Titans 75-54 Thursdaynight in the second round of the MHSAA South State 1A GirlsTournament in R.L “Bob” Calhoun Gymnasium.

The West Lincoln Lady Bears rallied in the fourth quarter andoutscored Thomastown 17-11, but it was not enough as the LadyBulldogs managed to hold on to a 44-36 victory.

In other girls’ games, the Ethel Lady Tigers eliminated theSebastopol Lady Bobcats 48-34 and the Durant Lady Tigers edged theSalem Lady Wildcats 36-33.

Tournament action continues today as four teams battle to stayalive. Two teams will have a chance to cash in their ticket to playin the Big House a.k.a. Mississippi Coliseum next week. Tipoff forGame One is 6 p.m., featuring Ethel versus Thomastown. In thefinale, Bogue Chitto entertains Durant at 7:30 p.m. Saturday titlegame is 7 p.m.

Thomastown 44, West Lincoln 36

Thomastown and West Lincoln were no strangers to each other as theybattled each other in the opening round of the MHSAA South StateTournament last year, when the Lady Bears won 50-45. This year theLady Bulldogs managed to prevail in the second round with theirtough aggressive defense.

Senior guard Karli Herrington scored a team-high 13 points to leadWest Lincoln. Senior forward Katie Mullins netted 11 points andgrabbed 9 rebounds. The Lady Bears finished the season with a 16-12record.

“We did not play very well the last three-minutes of the secondquarter,” said West Lincoln coach Lane Young. “We did not shootvery well and we had too many turnovers. In the second half, thegirls fought hard to keep the score close but ran out of gas latein the fourth quarter.”

The Lady Bulldogs (10-13) were led by Gynifer Cox with a team-high23 points.

“I am very pleased with my girls. They fought hard for the win,”said Thomastown coach Billie Jamison. “We played team ball and ourdefense was good. We knew coming in that West Lincoln would betough to beat since we played them last year.”

Ethel 48, Sebastopol 34

The Ethel Lady Tigers, coached by Murray Woody, overcame a sluggishfirst half and took over the game as Velvet Johnson pumped in agame-high 21 points. Lashonna Austin contributed 14 points.

The Sebastopol Lady Bobcats, coached by Wayne Wilson, concludedtheir season with 18-10 worksheet. Felicia Griffin was the leaderfor the Lady Bobcats with 9 points.

Bogue Chitto 75, East Oktibbeha 54

Two players, Adrienne Wallace and Earineshia Dillon, stepped up andwere huge factors in keeping the Lady Cats in the game as some keypersonnel had to sit the bench in the first half due to early foultrouble.

The Rogers sisters had a big night for Bogue Chitto as bothcontributed double-doubles. Tesheon Rogers pumped in a team-high 22points and 16 rebounds. Teareon Rogers knocked down 18 points andgathered 11 rebounds. Aneshia Dillion netted 13 points and Wallaceadded 10 points.

“We got into early foul trouble and it required some of my youngerplayers to step up,” said BC coach Christi Terrell. “We played muchbetter in the second half and hit the boards hard. Overall, I waspleased with the girls effort.”

Shondra Nichols was the sharpshooter for the Lady Titans (19-10_with a game-high 23 points. Quanisha Doss and Kelcie Lanier tossedin 12 points apiece.

“We did not come ready to play,” said East Oktibbeha coach RandolphBrooks. “We did not shoot well and played poorly on defense. BogueChitto played hard and wanted it more than us.”

Durant 36, Salem 33

The Durant Lady Tigers (14-14), coached by Kenyon Ross, ralliedfrom 10-points down to recapture the lead with four minutes left inthe fourth quarter. Wisdom James and Myiesha Reynolds were theleaders for the Lady Tigers with 12 points apiece.

The Lady Wildcats, coached by Randy Laird, received a team-high 12points from Jamie Davis. Salem ended their season with a 16-14record.