The Yazoo City Lady Indians’ season came to an abrupt halt Monday night with a 52-45 loss to the Ripley Lady Tigers in the first round of the Class 4A State Championships.
The loss ends Yazoo City’s season at 14-17.
“This is definitely not the ending we were hoping for,” said YHS head coach Joffre Washington. “We knew going on the road was going to be tough and we would have to play a near-perfect game to get out of there with a win. We had the game in our hands but we just failed to execute in certain spots down the stretch which opened the door for them. They were able to capitalize on those few mistakes to propel them to the win. I’m proud of my girls. We played hard and didn’t give up.”
The Lady Tigers led 14-9 after the first quarter, but the Lady Indians posted a 14-10 second quarter and trailed by just one, 24-23, at the half.
The game went back-and-forth during the thrid and fourth quarters and the Lady Indians led by two with under two minutes to play.
An ill-advised shot and turnover, however, allowed Ripley to regain the lead and hold on for the win. Lakyra Bankhead was the only Lady Indian in double figures with 21 points. Other YHS scorers were Makenzie Johnson with nine, Jamya McCoy with seven, and Jer’mya Porter and Malia Mcpherson each with two.
