In the final seconds Friday, Vicksburg’s Monique Jones stepped to the free throw line to try and seal its hard-fought 52-51 victory over Neshoba Central.

Jones missed from the charity stripe, but Karry Callahan grabbed one of her 18 rebounds and was fouled on the putback layup. Callahan made her free throws with 7 seconds left in the game, finished the night with 18 points, and allowed the Missy Gators to get out of the gym with a win.

“If I don’t make the free throws I know my teammates got the rebound and fortunately, Karry got the rebound and put it back up,” said Jones, who finished with six points and five rebounds.

Callahan’s game-winning free throws were the only two the Missy Gators made all game.

As time expired, Neshoba’s Hanna Williams was also fouled, giving her the chance to erase what Callahan accomplished. However, she missed both free throws to end the game.

The Lady Vikes and Rockets played closely behind each other all night. By halftime Neshoba enjoyed a 29-25 lead, but Vicksburg outscored it in the third quarter 17-10.

“They passed, cut through, pass and cut through,” Jones said. “They slowed the ball down and waited till they got open and took the shot.”

Vicksburg grabbed 40 rebounds, came away with 13 steals, and recorded eight assists and six blocks in the win.

Keyiana Gaskin scored 12 points, grabbed five rebounds with two assists, and had the lion’s share of the team’s steals with five. Eriel Bunch contributed another five points.

The Missy Gators (9-9, 1-1 Division 4-5A) won for just the third time in nine games since mid-December, but pulled back to .500 both in the division and overall. They’ll be off until next Friday, when they host Lanier in another division game.

(B) Neshoba Central 52, Vicksburg 28

T.J. Ben scored a game-high 24 points, with 18 coming from 3-point range, as Neshoba Central (18-2, 2-1 Division 4-5A) manhandled the Gators.

Neshoba Central scored its first eight points from three Vicksburg turnovers. Raheam Moore broke the scoring drought with just over three minutes left in the opening quarter.

“They jumped on us right off the bat,” Vicksburg coach Dellie C. Robinson said. “We had the opportunity to make some shots … we knew they were a good ball club and we aren’t taking that away from that, we just have to play better than we did.”

Robinson said giving up 22 points in the first half wasn’t bad, but when his team only can score 11 in the same stretch it exposes their weakness of not being able to make jump shots.

The Gators have struggled with outside shooting when teams take away the physical advantage of Kirk Parker. The result is a possession where they move the ball along the perimeter and waits for an open shot to appear, which takes air out of the game.

“It’s hard to find words, especially when you can’t make open shots. We knew they had a good ball club and they could shoot the basketball well and we knew we had to score to have a chance,” Robinson said. “We had some good looks but we just can’t knock them down.”

Parker only had seven points and 10 rebounds.

“We’re going to have to do a better job spreading the floor and getting the ball down to the guards, but it don’t matter because they still aren’t coming off Kirk until we make 3-point shots and that’s going to be a problem for us down the stretch,” Robinson said. “The key for us is we have to make some shots from outside and hopefully one game they’re going to fall.”

The Gators (7-9, 1-1) are .500 in division play but have lost six of their last seven games. They play Jim Hill Monday at 5:30 p.m. in Jackson at Lanier High School’s Martin Luther King Day Classic event.

Robinson hopes a win over a JPS team will restore what might seem to be broken.

“The more you lose confidence the worse you’re going to play so I’m hoping we can snatch some momentum,” Robinson said. “If we can get us a victory we can get some confidence back.”