The Vicksburg Missy Gators’ division championship drought reached 19 years Friday, as they fell 65-47 to Ridgeland in the Division 4-5A tournament final.

The first quarter was tight, åçwith the score tied at 8, but a 17-0 run by Ridgeland that was fueled by turnovers and transition baskets gave the Lady Titans a huge advantage. Vicksburg coach Troy Stewart wasn’t very pleased by his team’s performance.

“They made more shots than we did,” Stewart said. “We had too many turnovers, we just have to strap up and get ready for Monday.”

The Missy Gators were in the division tournament championship game for the third time in five seasons, but have not won it since 1999.

The Missy Gators (14-13) still clinched a spot in the Class 5A state tournament. They’ll host Lake Cormorant in a first-round game, most likely on Monday. The day and time will be finalized Saturday.

Vicksburg also ensured it will finish the season with at least a .500 record for the first time since the 2009-10 season. A win over Lake Cormorant will ensure its first winning record since then, no matter how deep into the playoffs the Missy Gators go.

Friday marked the second game in a row the Missy Gators had struggled to hold onto the ball, which left them exposed on defense on multiple possessions. They had committed 23 turnovers in the semifinals against Germantown, but managed to pull that one out.

“It was more of us than it was them,” Stewart said of the turnovers. “They’re a good team, offensively they hurt us because they made all their shots, but we threw the ball away more than they took it from us.”

Offensively, Ke’Mari Smith was on fire for Vicksburg. She scored 17 points, with three 3-pointers. Pleasure King also had a great day, scoring 11 with five points from the free throw line. Eriel Bunch added six points and made her presence felt on the boards by bringing down seven rebounds.

Overall, Stewart wanted much more from his offense in terms of scoring and ball movement.

“It was stagnant, we just stood still,” Stewart said. “Everything we tried to run, we didn’t run through the cycle. We couldn’t get anything going, that was rough on us.”

Unfortunately for the Missy Gators, it was just one of those days for Ridgeland, as its shooters seemingly couldn’t miss for large stretches of the game.

Nina German led all scorers with 18 points. Morgan McCray had 16 points for the Lady Titans, Shanell Kitchens added 14 and Zykerria Wilson finished with 12

Ridgeland (21-5) won two of its three meetings against Vicksburg this season. It also won its first girls’ basketball division championship in school history.

With this loss in the books, the Missy Gators will now try to bounce back in the first round of the state tournament on Monday. They’ll take on Lake Cormorant, which is 4-20 this season.
Stewart felt it was important for his team to move past their loss and solely focus on their first matchup in the playoffs.

“Because we’re in the playoffs, you put (the loss) aside and start over,” Stewart said. Have to go back to work tonight, get the kids in the gym tomorrow morning, and see what we can do.”