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Published 12:00 am Wednesday, January 11, 2006

Ellis sparks huge win over MC|[1/11/06].

From the very first shot she attempted, Kristin Ellis knew it was going to be a good night.

Over the course of four quarters she turned it into a great one for her Vicksburg High teammates, too.

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Ellis scored a game-high 26 points on 12-of-20 shooting, to go along with nine rebounds and eight steals, leading the Missy Gators to a 60-53 win over Madison Central on Tuesday.

Rachel Jenkins added 14 points and 12 rebounds for VHS (9-9, 1-2 Division 3-5A), which picked up a much-needed win after falling behind in the division race.

&#8220We needed this one bad. It was a district game, and we’d lost two previous district games, so we needed this one,” Jenkins said.

Keosha Ransom led Madison (9-9, 0-1) with 12 points and eight rebounds. Ashton Woodward added 12 points, all in the first half when the Lady Jags built a 28-26 lead.

In the locker room at halftime, VHS coach Barbara Hartzog gave her team a speech that was half motivational and half talking-to. It straightened out the Missy Gators, who took command of the game in the third quarter.

Vicksburg started the period with a 10-2 run, and went on to hit 11 of 15 shots from the field. It outrebounded Madison 9-1 and outscored the Lady Jags 25-9.

&#8220We knew it was supposed to be our game. (Hartzog) knew we knew it. She just had to tell us in a certain way to put a little fire under our feet,” Jenkins said.

Ellis scored nine points in the third quarter, capped by a 3-pointer at the buzzer that banked high off the glass to put the Missy Gators ahead 51-37.

&#8220I thought it was going to be an airball at first,” Ellis said of the 3-pointer.

Although down, Madison wasn’t out. It clawed its way back into the game, getting as close as four points in the final minute, at 57-53. But Kendra Sims hit a layup and Ellis sank one free throw to put the game away.

&#8220I think we made some poor decisions” in the third quarter, Madison Central coach Jackie Suggett said. &#8220We got a little hasty in a few trips down the floor. We didn’t handle the ball very well, and all of that resulted in several turnovers, missed opportunities and a deficit.”

(B) MC 72, VHS 46.

Vicksburg’s gameplan of taking away Madison Central’s inside threat worked to perfection.

It turned out to be the worst move the Gators made all night.

With the inside closed off, Madison went outside and hit six 3-pointers in the first quarter, building a big lead it never relinquished in a victory over the Gators.

Madison’s Vincent Powell led all scorers with 23 points – 16 of them in the first quarter, when he hit four 3-pointers. Chad Akins added 15 points for the Jaguars (14-5, 1-0) and Travis Reed scored 12.

&#8220It’s been a long time since I’ve seen anybody shoot threes like they did in the first half,” Vicksburg coach Dellie C. Robinson said. &#8220We did our best to not let (Malcoln) Kirkland get going down inside. Our guards went down too deep and left them open.

&#8220And once they got in a rhythm, they just started making them.”

John Qualls scored 15 points and Jonathan Phelps added 11 for Vicksburg (10-8, 0-3), which outrebounded Madison 18-5 in the first half. But Madison’s early 3-point barrage was too much to overcome. It put the Jaguars ahead 27-14 at the end of the first quarter.

Vicksburg got within seven points, at 43-36, midway through the third quarter before Madison went on a 12-3 run that put the game away. The Jaguars opened a 55-36 lead by the end of the period and pulled away from there.