[11/21/03]Tiffany Hubbard got a birthday present, Mike Coleman beat his former team, and Vicksburg High got a dominating win.

It was a good night all around for the Missy Gators.

Hubbard celebrated her 18th birthday by scoring a game-high 19 points, grabbing seven rebounds, and chipping in three assists and four steals as VHS (4-2) routed Raymond 76-45 on Thursday.

Victoria Swanagan had 14 points to lead Raymond, and Chivona Roberts had 12.

Erica Woodson added 12 points, Kristin Ellis had 10, and Kendra Sims had nine for Vicksburg, which shot an astounding 64.4 percent from the field before most of its front-line players were pulled at the end of the third quarter.

Most of Vicksburg’s baskets came on easy transition layups caused by a suffocating defense. VHS attempted only six 3-pointers and a few jumpers in the first three quarters, but was 29-for-45 from the field in that span. The Missy Gators had 13 steals in the game, and 14 of their 32 baskets came off assists.

“We were going to put pressure on them and try to wear them down. They had a couple of kids out,” said Coleman, who coached at Raymond from 1993-98. He added that he only knew a couple of Raymond’s players, but beating his former team was still a nice treat. “This one has been circled on my calendar for a while. I wanted this one real bad.”

The Missy Gators and Lady Rangers went back-and-forth for the first four minutes of the game, but VHS closed the first quarter with a 16-4 run and never looked back.

Vicksburg’s press kept Raymond from getting into any kind of rhythm offensively, and the Missy Gators converted nearly every trip down the floor into a basket. VHS shot 69 percent from the field in the first quarter, and led 41-24 at halftime.

“We were playing a little sluggish tonight, and I also have a couple of starters out,” Raymond coach Natasha Sather said. “He has a good team, and they are moving. They just outhustled us. Point-blank, they outhustled us.”

Raymond took advantage of some sloppy play by the Missy Gators to make a small run at the end of the first half, but VHS slammed the door in the third quarter.

Hubbard scored eight points in the period and the Missy Gators made 12 of 17 field goal attempts while outscoring Raymond 26-11. Vicksburg led 67-35 at the end of the quarter, and Raymond never got closer than 30 points in the final period.

“I wasn’t real pleased with the way we played at the end of the second half. We went into the locker room and discussed some things,” Coleman said with a chuckle. “We came out in the second half and did a much better job.”