Murrah tramples Lady Vikes|[12/13/06]

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, December 13, 2006

JACKSON – According to the scoreboard clock, Warren Central and Murrah played 32 minutes of basketball on Tuesday. The game took about 90 minutes to complete.

But to the Lady Vikes, it seemed like it lasted forever.

Murrah’s Lasandra Barrett had 20 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and three steals, and Brandi Simmons scored a game-high 24 points as the Lady Mustangs crushed Warren Central 76-31.

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WC (9-3) shot 23 percent from the field, committed 12 turnovers in the second quarter, had its best player, Sha’Kayla Caples, foul out in less than eight minutes of action, and lost another starter, Shantta Taylor, to injury.

Brittany Willis led the Lady Vikes with nine points.

&#8220There was no doubt about it being a nightmare game. We got taken out of our game early with the fouls on (Caples). When she doesn’t play but another six minutes, we’re going to struggle against somebody as big as Murrah is,” Warren Central coach Donny Fuller said. &#8220They were bigger than we were when we started. Then (Caples) goes out, Shantta’s hurt, that’s two of our starters.”

WC kept it close until Caples got into foul trouble – but that didn’t take long. The reigning Vicksburg Post Player of the Year picked up her third foul with 4:38 left in the first quarter and Murrah (8-0) ahead 8-4.

With Caples on the bench for the rest of the half, Fuller tried to use a stall offense to counter Murrah’s size advantage. Several turnovers forced him to alter the gameplan again, however, and none of the tricks in Fuller’s vast arsenal could deal with Barrett and Simmons.

Using mostly layups from the two big post players, Murrah went 13-for-16 from the field in the second quarter. The Lady Mustangs forced four Warren Central turnovers in the first 2 1/2 minutes of the quarter to open some space, and led 44-16 by halftime.

(B) Murrah 61, WC 53.

Jhermi Hooten scored nine of his 15 points in the first quarter to give Murrah (5-5) a lead it never relinquished, then made a pair of key plays late to help the Mustangs hold off Warren Central (5-7). Mario Luckett led WC with 18 points and 11 rebounds.

(G) St. Al 39, W. Lincoln 19.

Sarah Kerut scored 15 points, snagged 10 rebounds and had four steals to lead the Lady Flashes to their first Division 7-1A victory.

Elizabeth Mazzanti scored nine in the win and Bonney Neill had six rebounds for St. Al (7-3, 1-0).