JACKSON — Only two dozen people were in the stands when Warren Central and Wingfield tipped off at 10 a.m. Monday in the consolation bracket of the girls’ Jackson Public Schools Tournament, and for a time the Lady Vikes seemed to be feeding off their sleepy energy.

Whether it was the approaching lunch hour or an angry glare from their coach, the Lady Vikes finally woke up. When they did, the brief window Wingfield had to spring an upset snapped shut.

The Lady Vikes held Wingfield without a field goal for the last five minutes of the first half, allowing them to open a double-digit lead they never relinquished. They pushed the lead to as many as 30 points in the second half and crushed the Lady Falcons 59-33.

“The first half we were a little sluggish, a little dry. I don’t know if it was because of the early morning. We don’t do well in early morning games, and it took a while to get the momentum going,” Warren Central coach Jackie Martin-Glass said. “We had to take the air out of the ball to stop their momentum and make them play our game, which is man-to-man. They couldn’t really match up with us man-to-man.”

Dee Dee Caldwell led Warren Central (10-5) with a career-high 25 points and nine rebounds, while Kiara Lockhart had 14 points and 10 steals. Te’Asia Sims and T.T. Sims each added eight points, and Amber Gaston blocked four shots.

The victory sent the Lady Vikes into another consolation bracket game a few hours later against Natchez, which they won 42-38. Caldwell had 21 points and 11 rebounds and T.T. Sims had nine points and five assists.

Caldwell has scored in double figures in each of her last three games. She scored nine points in the second quarter against Wingfield to spark the rout, and then hit one of two free throws in the final seconds against Natchez to seal that victory. Caldwell also hit a deep 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter to give WC the lead against Natchez.

In three games in the JPS Tournament, Caldwell had two double-doubles and totaled 59 points and 30 rebounds.

“I’m proud of her play, and it shows we have a lot of shooters so you can’t key in on one player,” Martin-Glass said.

In their first game Monday, the Lady Vikes fell behind 17-13 early in the second quarter. They then cranked up the intensity and took firm control the game.

Taking advantage of a number of steals, transition baskets and offensive putbacks, the Lady Vikes closed the first half on a 16-2 run and outscored Wingfield 24-4 in the third quarter. The end result was their second 20-point victory over the Jackson school in less than a month.

“We just gave it more energy,” Caldwell said. “We couldn’t drop our heads. Not that early in the game. We executed more.”

 

(B) Laurel 71, WC 60

Shunterrance Walton scored 29 points, but Warren Central couldn’t hang on to a slim lead in the second half and lost for the fifth time in six games.

Jaquan Woods added eight points for the Vikings (6-9) and Chavis Smith scored seven.

Warren Central led by four points in the third quarter, but Laurel pulled ahead in the fourth and then made free throws down the stretch to widen the lead.

Warren Central opted not to play its final game in the consolation bracket of the boys’ JPS Tournament. It’ll return to action Jan. 5, when it hosts Northwest Rankin.