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JACKSON – The No. 1-ranked Bogue Chitto Lady Cats advanced to the state title game after clobbering the Biggersville Lady Lions 77-40 Monday in the semifinal round of the Class 1A tournament at the Jackson Coliseum.

The Lady Cats shot a blistering 50.8 percent (31-of-61) from the field and 48 percent (12-of-25) from three-point range.

“My girls never cease to amaze me,” said BC coach Christi Terrell. “We came out ready to play both offensively and defensively. We shot the ball ready well today against a very good Biggersville team. We are extremely excited to get the win to advance to the state championship game, but as a team we need to regroup and refocus on our mission.”

The Lady Cats (31-3, 4-0) will face the Shaw Lady Hawks at 1 p.m. Thursday in the championship game.

The Lady Hawks rallied back with a 22-15 run to beat Vardaman 49-47 Monday.

Lady Cats 77, Lady Lions 40

The Lady Cats’ win was never in doubt, even though the Lady Lions hung around early. The teams traded several baskets before BC pulled away at the end of the first to claim a 17-14 lead. It was all Bogue Chitto after that.

BC exploded with a 24-11 run in the second to close out the first half leading 41-25. Bogue Chitto finished the half 7-of-15 (47%) behind the arc and 16-of-29 (55%) overall in the field.

Bogue Chitto continued to scorch the nets in the second half, outscoring Biggersville 36-15 in the final two quarters.

“It feels great to get the win today and advance to the championship game,” said BC senior guard Zariah Matthews. “After falling short of reaching our goal the past three out of four years, everyone on the team is willing to do whatever it takes to win. Now, we have just one game left and we must stay focused.”

Mathews powered the Lady Cats with a game-high 27 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals. Taneshia May and Karlie Williams chipped in 12 points apiece. May finished with six rebounds and Williams had three rebounds. Shakirianna Jefferson netted 10 points and had two rebounds. Terrah Nelson was the leader on the boards with nine rebounds and scored four points. Christian Black also scored four points and had four rebounds. Baileigh Jackson and Perstashia Henderson provided three points each. Cheyenne Hall had two points.

Tyleshia Davis was the top scorer for the Lady Lions with 14 points and four rebounds. Jada Tubbs contributed 12 points and had three rebounds. Serra Hinton scored six points. Blake Mitchell and Amber Duncan had three points each. Alex finished with two points and lead on the boards with five rebounds.

The Lady Cats finished the game with a shooting percentage of 50.8 percent (31-of-61) from the field, 48 percent (12-of-25) from three-point range and 50 percent (3-of-6) from the foul line. The Lady Lions shot 32 percent (14-of-44) from the field, 18 percent (3-of-17) from three-point range and 69 percent (9-of-13) from the free throw line.

“Bogue Chitto has a very good, well-coached team,” said Biggersville coach Cliff Little. “We knew coming in that BC will be the team to beat in the tournament. They are the favorites to win it all this season. My girls did a great job playing today, but we just could not keep up with Bogue Chitto’s hot shooting performance. Overall, we had a great season and we should be proud of our accomplishments.”

Shaw 49, Vardaman 47

Raven James directed the Lady Hawks’ scoring with a double-double performance of 10 points and 13 rebounds. Aleghsa Haywood, Tonaria Smith and Kendalyn Thomas contributed nine points each. Lillian Scott provided eight points.

Alaysia Madkins paced Vardaman’s offense with 17 points and four rebounds. Shylysses Rimmer chipped in 13 points and had nine rebounds.