Lady Indians earn quarter-final spot

The Byhalia Lady Indians will make a second straight trip down I-55 South.

They will face Northeast Jones in the Class 4A quarter-finals Thursday, March 2, at 5:30 p.m. at Mississippi Coliseum.

A year ago, at Jackson State, they were eliminated in overtime by Quitman.

“The Lady Indians were focused and determined to make a return trip to Jackson,” head coach Jeffrey Williams said. “They played well in all facets of the game. Both starters and reserves were instrumental in helping us advance to the next round of tournament play.”

Friday night, the Byhalia girls turned in a stellar performance, defeating Green­wood 67-49 on the road in round two of state.

The Lady Indians opened the action with an 11-5 lead.  And at the end of the first, they were up 24-11.

The Byhalia girls added 16 more points to the Lady Bulldogs’ 10. At the break, Byhalia held a 40-21 lead.

A Lady Bulldog sank a two at the top of the third. Shortly after, Greenwood’s offensive output came to a brief halt. The Byhalia girls turned up the heat and began to battle for ball control. The Lady Indians closed the third leading 52-27.

Down the stretch, the Lady Bulldogs’ scoring kicked into a new gear but it was too little too late. They outscored the Lady Indians 22-15 but couldn’t come close to snatching the lead.

The Byhalia girls (21-7 on the season) had sealed the deal with an 18-point advantage.

Tiyanna Powell scored 21 points and Kavacia Johnson had 20 for Byhalia. Leekadra Smith added 13.

With a win over Northeast Jones this week, Byhalia will play in the semi-finals next Monday at noon.

Byhalia-Louisville

The Lady Indians, playing at home, didn’t have any problems getting rid of the Lady Wildcats in the first round of the state playoffs Tuesday night, Feb. 21.

Powell scored 20 of her 30 points in the second half and Johnson added 18 as the Lady Indians were dominant over Louisville, 75-38.

The Lady Indians jumped out front early and grabbed a first-quarter lead 21-9 as time had expired. Smith hit double threes, Powell had six points, and Johnson scored five for Byhalia in this frame.

Diamond Wraggs contributed five points in the first for Louisville.

The Lady Indians outscored the Lady Wildcats 13-8 in the second quarter to up their margin to 34-17 at intermission.

The Louisville girls were down by 20 points (40-20) at the 5:08 mark in the third. They tried to narrow the gap, but Byhalia stayed in control and extended its advantage to 48-26 at the end of the third quarter.

The Lady Indians continued to click in the fourth. They gained 27 more points, compared to Louisville’s 12.

Byhalia finished with a 37-point victory to advance to the second round of the state tournament.

Kameron Rogers scored 10