Prep roundup: Quistors sweep the Wave
TUESDAY’S VITAL NUMBERS
MHSAA 6A soccer playoffs, first round
(Boys) Clinton 4, Lewisburg 1
(Boys) Germantown (Madison) 1, Southaven 0 (2OT)
(Girls) Clinton 2, Lewisburg 0
(Girls) Germantown (Madison) 2, Hernando 1
MHSAA 5A soccer playoffs, first round
(Boys) Center Hill 5, Neshoba Central 1
Prep boys basketball
DeSoto Central 55, Lewisburg 44
Olive Branch 55, Tupelo 51
Center Hill 80, Lake Cormorant 61
Northpoint Christian 66, St. George’s (Collierville, Tenn.) 61 (overtime)
Oxford 75, Horn Lake 68
Southaven 61, Hernando 46
Prep girls basketball
DeSoto Central 52, Lewisburg 18
Olive Branch 66, Tupelo 60
Center Hill 70, Lake Cormorant 46
Northpoint Christian 55, St. George’s (Collierville, Tenn.) 24
Oxford 52, Horn Lake 30
Hernando 54, Southaven 34
OLIVE BRANCH WASHES OUT THE WAVE IN SWEEP
The Olive Branch basketball Conquistadors and Lady Quistors defended their home court and set themselves for being the top seeds in the upcoming 6A district tournament with a pair of victories over Tupelo Tuesday night in Olive Branch.
The Conquistadors stopped the Golden Wave 55-51 after the Lady Quistors beat the Lady Wave 66-60.
Olive Branch girls 66, Tupelo 60
The six-point difference in the final score was significant for defending MHSAA 6A state champion Olive Branch in that the victory avenged the Lady Quistors’ only loss of the season. More importantly, winning the game by six points gives Olive Branch the tiebreaker for the top seed for the postseason division tournament if Tupelo and the Lady Quistors indeed are tied in the standings after next week. Olive Branch needed to win by that margin to earn the tiebreaker.
The Lady Quistors and Lady Wave battled throughout. Tupelo took a 17-15 lead at the end of the first quarter and led 36-34 at halftime. Both teams matched each other point-for-point in the third quarter as Tupelo hung on to their two-point margin at 53-51 entering the fourth quarter.
But that’s when the Olive Branch pressure defense kicked in, holding the Lady Wave to only seven points the entire fourth quarter, outscoring Tupelo 15-7 in the final eight minutes for the victory.
“My young ladies answered the bell,” Lady Quistors coach Jason Thompson said. “We had a lot of things that miscued and we played outside of the character of what we typically do, but we kept battling. Sometimes you have to just fight through and persevere.”
Amya Black led the Lady Quistors with 17 points against Tupelo, with 11 of that total coming in the third quarter.
“A senior, she stepped up and played real big,” Thompson said. “She’s a very hardworking kid that knows how to play the game.”
Brynea Eason hit a trio of three-pointers in the first half on her way to a 16-point performance and Addison Howell was a perfect 5-for-5 at the free throw line as she finished with 15 points.
Halle Traylor led Tupelo’s efforts with 15 points that included a pair of three-point baskets.
Olive Branch boys 55, Tupelo 51
The Conquistadors, minus two starters out with injuries, defended its claim to the number one seed in the 6A district tournament with its four-point victory over Tupelo. As in the girls’ game, the difference came in the fourth quarter of play.
Both teams traded points in the first quarter to a 10-10 tie and a 21-21 halftime score. The duel continued in the third quarter to a 36-36 tie but the Quistors got just enough scoring in the final eight minutes for the victory.
Tupelo couldn’t handle Olive Branch’s Terry Joyner, who finished with a game-high 22 points, which included 11 in the first half and whose pair of treys in the final quarter cap off the night for the Quistors.
“Terry has been stepping up for us the last handful of games,” Olive Branch coach Eric Rombaugh said. “He’s been scoring well. But I don’t know if we have one guy that another team can focus on to try and take him away from us.”
Jaden Webb and Jaylyn Tyler each contributed 11 points for Olive Branch.
“When Webb and Joyner play defense like they did tonight and the way they rebounded, it takes a lot of pressure off our guards,” said Rombaugh.
Lamarus Miller was the leading scorer for Tupelo with 11 points, but he was held to only a fourth-quarter two-point basket in the second half.
“It was a great team effort,” said Rombaugh. “We’ve been focusing a lot on our defense and the boys tonight came out and really played hard and smart.”
At 4-1 in district play Rombaugh believes they should be the top seed in the postseason district tournament, but knows it’s going to be a battle advancing into the state playoffs.
“Any of us can beat anybody else on a given night,” said Rombaugh.
TUESDAY NOTABLES
- Center Hill was the only DeSoto County soccer squad to advance to the next round of the MHSAA playoffs with a decisive 5-1 victory at home over Neshoba Central. The Mustangs took a 5-0 lead to halftime and allowed one Neshoba Central goal in the second half. Center Hill plays Grenada on Saturday in the second round. Grenada defeated Callaway 5-4 in its first round match Tuesday night.
- Of the four MHSAA 6A soccer playoff matches, the closest one was Germantown’s (Madison) 1-0 two-overtime victory at Southaven. Clinton boys and girls defeated Lewisburg’s boys and girls and Germantown (Madison) stopped the Hernando girls.
- Center Hill boys won another 5A district basketball championship, swept the regular season series with county rival Lake Cormorant, and won its 10th straight game with an 80-61 victory over the Gators. Zandon Haralson has remained the leading offensive threat for the Mustangs in recent games and Tuesday scored 30 points to lead Center Hill in scoring. Kaeden Laws added 24 and Tanner Burcham scored 14 as the Mustangs improved to 17-8 and 5-0 in district play.
- Northpoint Christian took an important TSSAA division contest with a 66-61 overtime victory over St. George’s (Collierville, Tenn.) Christian Gilliland dominated the Gryphons with 27 points and Darius Naylor added 19 more. Northpoint trailed 44-39 entering the fourth quarter but rallied to tie the game at 58-58, sending it into overtime.
- Horn Lake took a seven-point lead in the first quarter after starting on a 6-0 run in their boys’ basketball game at Oxford, but the Chargers forged a 35-35 tie at halftime and went on to a 75-68 6A district victory at Oxford.
- Hernando girls basketball stayed unbeaten in district play after a 20-point, 54-34 victory over Southaven. Abbey Harrison led the Lady Tigers with 17 points and Damiya Cummings added 11.
- In Northpoint Christian’s 55-24 girls’ basketball victory over St. George’s (Collierville, Tenn.), Leah Jones led the Lady Trojans with 24 points. She was supported by Brylee Faith Cherry with 13 points. Northpoint held St. George’s to just 10 points in the first half, leading 40-10 at intermission.
- Hope Mealer led Center Hill with a 20-point effort in the Lady Mustangs 70-46 victory. Dominique Collins added 16 as Center Hill improved to 3-2 in 5A district play.
- The DeSoto Central volleyball team received their MHSAA 6A state championship rings during the Jaguars game with Lewisburg. The Lady Jags defeated Brandon 3-1 for the state title back in October.
