[01/27/02]Wayne County had Donny Fuller and a host of Class 5A coaches from around the state scratching their heads Saturday afternoon at the Red Carpet Classic at WC.

The Lady War Eagles are having that effect on a lot of people this year.

Junior Carla Bartee had a game-high 17 points and 11 rebounds to lead second-ranked Wayne County (25-1) to a dominating 68-46 win, only the second loss for a Fuller-coached team in the Classic.

“They are pretty dad-gum good,” Fuller said. “I said all along that they aren’t the No. 2 team in the state for nothing. They shot the ball well, they run the floor, play great defense and are extremely well coached. I knew all along it was going to be a battle.”

The battle lasted only a few minutes in the first quarter.

Nicole Jordan scored six of her 15 in the opening quarter as the Lady War Eagles burst out to a 20-11 lead at the end of the first. Using a fast-paced running game and an in-your-face defense, Wayne County caused seven first-quarter turnovers.

“Every shot they took in the first half seemed to go in and we couldn’t get into a flow offensively,” said Fuller, whose team dropped to 21-6. “LaShanda Williams was maybe 50 percent and she’s our point guard and gets things going for us.”

Jordan ended the game with 13 points and Natalie Jordan, a Mississippi University for Women signee, had 15.

“We tried to come out intense and stay intense the whole ballgame,” said Wayne County coach Gina Skelton, whose team’s only loss came early in the season against Moss Point.

JaQuita Benard led Warren Central with 13 points, while Wendy Thomas had 10 and Wanda Calvin eight. Calvin and Williams were both nursing injured ankles and their status for Tuesday’s game against Crystal Springs is questionable. Chasity Blue missed another game with an injured ankle.

“Not to make any excuses, I’d like our chances a lot better if we had some healthy bodies out there,” Fuller said. “I thought our kids showed a lot of heart and character in the second half. We’re beat up and down by 30 at one point and we fight back to cut it to 18.”

The Lady War Eagles led 39-17 at the half, then played even basketball in the second half with each team scoring 29 points. Skelton said her team got a little complacent.

“We’ve been preaching against that,” Skelton said. “They got a little satisfied and they shouldn’t have. A good team like Warren Central can come back on you.”

A pair of Bartee free throws late in the third quarter gave Wayne County, which also won the football Red Carpet Bowl over Warren Central, its biggest lead of the night, 49-23.

Wayne County extended the lead to 30 with 6 minutes, 14 seconds to play in the fourth quarter before WC mounted a comeback.

“I reminded our kids of last year,” said Fuller, whose team trailed Louisiana power St. Frederick by 14 going into the fourth quarter and ended up winning the game. “I know our kids and they won’t quit on you for anything.”

A Benard basket pulled WC within 20 late and two Thomas free throws got the deficit under 20 for the first time since the second quarter.

Fuller said he hopes he gets to see Wayne County again. It will be in the state tournament at the Coliseum.

“I want a rematch,” Fuller said. “The only way we get a rematch is in the Big House and I’ll take my chances if we get there.”

(B) Wayne Co. 67, WC 51

Wayne County made a clean sweep of the RCB with a second-quarter outburst.

The War Eagles, ranked No. 4 and carrying a 22-1 record, used a 21-9 run in the second quarter to break open a tightly contested first half.

Aaron McClendon led all scorers with 16 points to earn the War Eagles’ MVP award and Dietrick Slater scored 15.

“We turned the basketball over in crucial parts of the game,” Warren Central coach Preston Wilson said. “Right now, we’re hurting ourselves more than anything by turning the ball over. We have to find a way not to turn it over.”

Sherman Logan paced Warren Central (11-14) with 12 points and Walter Cook scored 11. The two earned co-MVP awards.

The Vikings held a 15-14 lead after the first quarter, but fell behind 35-24 at the half. They cut the lead to 10 going into the fourth quarter before Wayne County won going away.

“We’ve been playing hard the last few ballgames,” Wilson said. “A lot of teams would have just quit by now, but our guys are still fighting and playing hard.”