Missy Gators stonewall WC

Published 12:05 am Sunday, January 9, 2011

The basket on a regulation basketball goal is big enough to fit two balls side by side.

For Warren Central on Saturday, it wouldn’t have mattered if three could fit in there.

Vicksburg put the clamps on the Lady Vikes, holding them to a single point in the first quarter on the way to a 46-30 victory.

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Vicksburg’s swarming defense that forced 30 turnovers and made every WC shot a contested one. The Missy Gators did a good job of limiting 6-foot-5 center Shagreda Shorter’s touches in the paint thanks to a gritty defensive effort by Antoinette Mayfield.

Donyeah Mayfield had 18 points, 12 rebounds and a blocked shot. Guard Shanequa Hill added 16 points and four steals for Vicksburg (8-6, 3-0 Division 4-6A).

Warren Central didn’t get its first field goal until two minutes remained in the second quarter, on a putback by Rolanda Lovette, and had more fouls than points at the end of the first period.

Kierra Ross paced WC (3-12, 1-2) with six points, while Audrianna Ratliff and Michelle Jones added five apiece.

“I don’t think our girls executed our gameplan,” WC coach Jackie Glass said. “We played kind of flat in the first quarter. I know when we’re not able to put at the half any more than seven or eight points, we’re in for a long night.”

But despite that miserable start, the Lady Vikes had a chance in the third quarter when Vicksburg went cold from the field after leading 24-7 at halftime.

Shorter and Kierra Ross turned offensive boards into layups and Michelle Jones capped a rare fastbreak opportunity with a layup to reduce the deficit to 13 at 26-13.

Hill went on a personal scoring run, converting on two strong drives and then turning a nice steal off an inbounds pass into another layup to give Vicksburg a 32-16 lead at the end of three.

Vicksburg coach Barbara Hartzog liked the defensive intensity, but was disappointed that her troops didn’t keep the gas pedal floored to the firewall.

The Missy Gators were also plagued by poor foul shooting, as they hit only 14 of 28.

“We’ll work hard and get the lead, but we’ll get casual and lose it,” Hartzog said. “We’ll let it drop and have to work hard to get it back up again. We’ve got to get it there and keep it there.”