Yazoo County’s high school basketball teams ended last week with contests against Ruleville Central.
The night saw a win for the Lady Panthers and a loss for the Panthers.
Panthers 49,
Tigers 54
A tough third quarter cost the Panthers their game against Ruleville Central on Friday night.
There was a slow start to the game, but Ruleville Central managed to get an early leg up with a 7-4 scoring performance.
The scoring picked up tremendously once the second quarter started. Each team was able to double their first quarter output, but the Panthers came out on top 17-14 to make it a 21-21 game at the half.
In the third quarter, a slight lapse was all the Tigers needed to outscore the Panthers 14-8, giving them a 35-29 lead with a quarter remaining.
Yazoo County fought hard to cut the lead and outscored Ruleville 20-19, but it wasn’t enough.
They fell 54-49.
Lady Panthers 57,
Lady Tigers 40
The Lady Panthers of Yazoo County avenged their previous loss to Ruleville Central with a 57-40 win on Friday night.
The game was all Yazoo County in the first quarter of action, as the Lady Panthers outscored the Lady Tigers 11-2.
In the second quarter, things were far tighter, but Yazoo County still came out on top 8-6 to bring the halftime score to 19-8.
After the break, the scoring exploded for Ruleville Central. They put up more than double their first half production with 18 points. Unfortunately for them, however, Yazoo County scored 22 to make it a 41-26 game.
The Lady Panthers put the finishing touches on the game with a 16-14 fourth quarter, making the final score 57-40.
Sensational sophomore Jacorriah Bracey from Ruleville got 32 points in the loss, but the Lady Panthers did much better everywhere else.
Yazoo County head basketball coach Patrick Nutter was happy to see his team step up their play in a pivotal game.
“Offensively, we moved the ball much better,” Nutter said. “Their best player still scored 32 points, but we did a better job concentrating on defense.”
Still, he sees room for improvement in the coming weeks.
“We have to be better,” Nutter said. “If we want to do anything in the playoffs, we’ll have to be better on offense. We scored 57, but if we make those missed layups and free throws, we could have scored over 70.”
Senior Aquasia Edwards led the Lady Panthers with 13 points.
Ke’Anna Norwood was right behind her with 10 points.
Destiny Epps and Akeriunna Frierson each scored eight points in the win.
Yazoo County ends district play and the regular season on Friday night when they host Charleston.
The game could be vital for Yazoo County’s playoff run if things break their way.
“If we win and Amanda Elzy loses to Humphreys, we’ll be the number three seed,” Nutter said. That’s as good as being the second seed. If we finish third, we’ll play J.Z. George. Ruleville Central likely has second place locked up. If we lose, we’ll be the fourth seed, and we’ll have a rematch with Charleston.”
Tip-off for the first game will be at 6 p.m.
