[01/120/02]A leaky roof forced Saturday’s showdown between Vicksburg and Warren Central to VHS and made it a night game instead of a mid-afternoon contest.

The changes had little effect on the Lady Vikes.

Wanda Calvin scored a team-high 14 points and had eight rebounds in leading WC (19-4, 2-2 Division 6-5A) to a 50-45 win over the Missy Gators.

JaQuita Benard pitched in 11 points and 12 rebounds and LaShanda Williams had 10 points as WC won for the second straight over Vicksburg.

“It feels real good because they’ve been talking noise,” Benard said. “They’ll have to close their mouths for a little while.”

Vicksburg led at halftime and had a golden opportunity to tie the game with 16 seconds left, but Rae Evans’ layup attempt rolled off the rim and Benard grabbed the rebound and hit one foul shot.

After her second bounced off the rim, WC’s Wendy Thomas rebounded the miss, was fouled and made both free throws for the five-point win.

“I told our kids I wouldn’t be more proud of them if they had scored six more points, I’d just be a little happier,” Vicksburg coach Mike Coleman said.

“We had our chances we just didn’t do it.”

LaToya Trunell led all scorers with 20 points and nine rebounds, while Tricia Dart had five steals in the loss.

Vicksburg had a 27-24 lead at the end of the first half, but came out cold in the second. Warren Central went on a 13-4 run to take a 37-31 lead with three minutes to play in the third quarter.

Vicksburg answered with a 9-2 run to take a 40-39 lead on an Evans’ three-point play. The teams were tied at 43, but a Benard basket and a Calvin steal and hoop put the Lady Vikes up 47-43 late in the fourth.

“This put us in good shape for the 2-3 spot,” WC coach Donny Fuller said of the division tournament. “We thought all along Natchez was in control.”

As it stands now, Natchez leads the division with a 4-1 record and still must host Vicksburg. Clinton and Warren Central are 2-2 with a showdown at Clinton on Feb. 5. Vicksburg is 0-3 with one game each against all three opponents.

“There’s really no difference between Clinton, Warren Central and Natchez,” Coleman said. ” … It’s still a toss-up to see who’ll get out. I told the kids that we didn’t have to beat all three of them in one night, just one on Tuesday and one on Friday.”