Lady Tide 56 Hancock 53
The Lady Tide captured the Division 5-5A Championship overcoming a 12 point halftime deficit to defeat
the 5th ranked Hancock Lady Hawks 56-53 in overtime at Oak Grove. The championship was a first for the
girls program and added one more feat to the remarkable season this talented group of young ladies have
produced under the helm of Head Coach Dennis Peterson and Assistant Coach Brian Dees. The young,
but talented Picayune squad starts four sophomores, and one junior. Their first reserve off the bench is a junior.
The Tide scored off the opening tip to lead 2-0 before Hancock raced out to a 17-9 first quarter lead led by their
Dandy Dozen guard Brooke Necaise who had 11 points in the quarter. Hancock led 30-18 at the half and things
appeared bleak for the Lady Tide .
However, the Lady Tide went on a 10-2 run in the first four minutes of the third quarter and got 3 points on a
buzzer beater from sophomore Dedrea Magee from near half court to pull the Tide to within 35-32 at the end
of three quarters. Picayune took the lead 36-35 with 5:48 to play in regulation as Magee sank two free throws
and had their biggest lead of the game at 43-38 when Jamelle Clark banked in a short jumper off the glass
with 4:12 left. Hancock rallied behind Necaise to re-take the lead 44-43 with 2:44 to play and added another
basket to lead 46-43 before Toi Jones drained a 3-pointer to tie it at 46-46 with :51 left on the clock. Neither
team could score the rest of the way and the game went into overtime.
In the extra period, Dedrea Magee fouled out with 2:53 to play. Amanda Arcement made two free throws to put
Hancock on top 48-46. Breonne Spikes tied it at 48-48 with two free throws for the Lady Tide. Next, the Lady
T ide's Toi Jones scored on a jumper from the left side, but Hancock's Necaise answered back to tie it at 50-50.
With 1:47 to play in overtime, Toi Jones hit two free throws and then added another with 1:04 to play to put the
Tide up 53-50. Breonne Spikes was fouled with :27 to play and made both free throws to put Picayune ahead
55-50 with :27 left. Hancock's Courtney Craft nailed a 3-pointer with :18 left to trim the Lady Tide lead to 55-53.
Hancock fouled Toi Jones with :10 to play. Jones made the first free throw, but missed her second attempt for
a 56-53 lead. With :03 left, Brooke Necaise's 3-point attempt was blocked by Jones to preserve the Lady Tide's
miraculous comeback. Dedrea Magee led the Tide with 18 points and Toi Jones finished with 12 points.
Breonne Spikes chipped in 8 points. Ashley Bell, who has given the Tide a big boost since returning from an
injury, finished with 4 points and 10 rebounds. Alisin Robinson added 4 points and Jamelle Clark scored 2 points
and grabbed 6 rebounds for the Lady Tide. Necaise led all scorers with 25 points and Craft added 10 for Hancock.
Picayune will host Gulfport at Kelly Wise Memorial Gymnasium on Monday at 7:00pm in the first round of the
South State Playoffs. Hancock will travel to Harrison Central on Monday at 7:00pm.
Hattiesburg 67 Picayune 60
The Maroon Tide jumped out to 19-6 lead on the 7th ranked Tigers, but Hattiesburg forced the Tide to commit
18 turnovers and pulled out a 67-60 win to claim the Division 5-5A title at Oak Grove. The Tide led 29-22 at the
half and 44-43 after the third quarter, but in the end, the Tigers pressure defense and foul trouble was too much
for the Tide to overcome. Hattiesburg led by 8 points with just over four minutes left in the game, but the Tide fought
back to cut it to 57-56 on a free throw by Radale Brumfield with 1:27 left to play. That's as close as Picayune would get.
Radale Brumfield led the Tide with 15 points and Donairies Hair, who sat most of the third quarter in foul trouble, had
12 points and 8 rebounds before fouling out in the fourth quarter. Cordell Myles finished with 10 points.
Hattiesburg's leading scorer Alton Robinson led all scorers pouring in 28 points and Jay Lee added 14 points.
Picayune will travel to Biloxi on Tuesday to face the Indians at 7:00pm. Hattiesburg will host Gulfport at 7:00pm.