FLOWOOD — The Vicksburg Missy Gators had a rough start to the weekend, but a nice finish to 2014.

Karry Callahan finished with 15 points and 15 rebounds, Ruddie Shears scored another 15 points, and the Missy Gators pulled away in the second half to beat Hillcrest Christian 57-42 in a consolation game of the Northwest Rankin Holiday Tournament.

Vicksburg (10-4) lost its tournament opener to Velma Jackson on Friday, then beat Pelahatchie and Hillcrest (13-5) to head into 2015 and next week’s division opener at Callaway on a high note.

“We had distractions Friday, and that’s what costs you. Little things make the big things happen, and they did that Saturday and today,” Vicksburg coach Barbara Hartzog said. “I just think they played better as a team today. It was a good way to end the year, 2014, going into 2015 and into district.”

The Missy Gators put away Monday’s game with a 16-2 run spanning the third and fourth quarters, as well as strong defense and an efficient offense down the stretch.

Callahan and point guard Keiyana Gaskin had four steals and two blocks apiece. Gaskin also scored eight points, and Callahan had six assists.

Rebecca Harris led Hillcrest with 18 points and Payton Ertle scored 11.

As a team, Vicksburg was 21-for-54 shooting from the field and 9-for-14 from the foul line.

The 38.9 field goal percentage was Vicksburg’s best in seven games. Its 64.3 free throw percentage marked just the ninth time in the past three seasons it has shot better than 60 percent in a game.

“The five on the floor played together, and maybe now they’ll see that if they play together and play defense, the defense is going to bring the offense,” Hartzog said. “We ran the floor good and everybody moved without the ball. They just played better as a team.”

Shears kicked the decisive run into high gear with a 3-pointer that made it 41-35 with about 3 1/2 minutes left in the third quarter. The Missy Gators stretched that to 47-35 by the end of the period, then scored the first two baskets of the fourth to go up by 16 with six minutes remaining.

Hillcrest never got the deficit back into single digits.

“Everyone was getting involved. Everybody played hard and contributed,” Callahan said.

(G) Jim Hill 55, Warren Central 36

Warren Central erased most of an early 20-point deficit, but it couldn’t make it all the way back and lost to Jim Hill in a consolation bracket game of the Jackson Public Schools Tournament.

Shae Bracey led the Lady Vikes with nine points and DaSha McGloster scored six.

Warren Central (6-9) trailed 21-1 at the end of the first quarter, but rallied back to get within seven by halftime. It couldn’t sustain the momentum, however, and lost for the fourth time in five games.

“We came out in the second half and lost all the momentum we picked up in the second quarter,” WC coach Jackie Glass said. “We are struggling now, but I still have hope and confidence that things will get better by the season’s end. I expected us to struggle early and learn from all our losses.”