Warren Central girls’ basketball coach Jackie Martin-Glass wasn’t happy with her team’s performance Tuesday night, even though they beat Pearl 36-28.

The Lady Vikes were 10-of-29 from the field and missed shots under the goal and the perimeter. The second quarter seemed to be the most problematic for both sides as all three points for the Lady Vikes came off free throws, while Pearl scored one field goal and converted both of its free throw attempts. Pearl’s zone defense allowed them to turn missed shots from the Lady Vikes into transition points and free throws in the second half.

“I know we can play better and I think tonight we were just off,” Martin-Glass said. “When I realized we were having an off night I decided to shorten the game, take the air out of the ball and not allow them to keep getting opportunities and chip into our lead.”

Despite the poor shooting performance, Amber Gaston put up eight points and five blocks, four of which she recorded in the first quarter.

“Amber’s presence in the post has helped us a lot. She has put in some work and she’s got her confidence up,” Martin-Glass said. “Her presence is very much felt. She’s averaged four or five blocks a game. It’s always good to have that big man inside and she’s able to deflect some balls, block some shots or even make a person change their shot with her length.”

Cocoa Fultz also made her presence felt in the post by grabbing nine rebounds, four of which came on the offensive end.

To a degree, one positive the Lady Vikes can take away was their aggressiveness on defense. A number of steals and deflections led to fast break layups.

Warren Central had 14 steals, with Te’Asia Sims leading the team with five. T.T. Sims led the team with 13 points and went 11-of-17 from the free throw line.

(B) Warren Central 67, Pearl 59

The Vikings’ win over Pearl was big for three reasons. It was a victory over a 6A school; they were able to keep their home winning streak alive; and are now above .500 for the first time since beating Jefferson County in the season opener.

Warren Central (5-4) has won four in a row since ending a four-game losing streak. It’ll play at rival Vicksburg on Saturday afternoon.

WC coach Bruce Robinson said his team has started to show some mental toughness and shot free throws well, making 19 out of 24 attempts. In its last three games, Warren Central is 44-for-59 (74.5 percent) from the foul line as a team.

“All the kids, you put them on the floor and you can see them coming together and refusing to lose the ball game. I’m seeing us develop mental toughness and as you get into December and January, you become who you are and I hope that’s who we’re becoming; a tough, refuse to lose ball club,” Robinson said.

The Vikings were up 24-23 at halftime, but Pearl scored 25 points in the third to finish the quarter with a 45-37 lead.

Pearl’s Jaquan Gatlin scored nine points from behind the arc and was aggressive driving into the lane to help put some cushion between the Pirates and Vikings. The Pirates also controlled the rebounding game, leading to extra points on their end.

“They knocked down some deep 3s, they get some extra baskets and all of a sudden we look up and we’re down 11 or 12. If we’re not doing anything on the offensive end and we’re not playing defense, that’s why it kind of put us down at the half going into the fourth quarter,” Robinson said.

But Warren Central was in a familiar position. It’s had to bounce back in several games already.

Shaunterrance Walton kept the Vikings in the game by scoring 17 points in the fourth quarter. He hit three 3-pointers and ended the night with 28 points.

Walton also had a fast break dunk early in the game to get the crowd on its feet and excited.

“When it comes to scoring, he’s an explosive scorer,” Robinson said. “He’s 8-for-8 from the free throw line and he made two huge 3s late. He’s going to make those big plays to give us a chance to win ball games.”

(B) Benton Academy 67, Porters Chapel 27

Glen Allen Kittrell scored a team-high eight points and grabbed three rebounds for Porters Chapel Academy in a loss to Benton Academy.

The Eagles had 22 turnovers and couldn’t keep control of the ball as 17 came from bad passes. Isiah and Patrick Minor, as well as Kyle Learned each grabbed four rebounds. Learned, Garrett Hutchins and Leon Simms tied for the team high in steals with two apiece.

“They had two really tall post players and we didn’t match up well,” PCA coach Stacey Sykes said. “We need to play better team defense and cut down our turnovers.”

PCA will host Park Place on Thursday.