Down by 11 points at the end of the first quarter, it looked like Vicksburg High was heading down a familiar road Monday night — another blowout loss to Ridgeland, and yet another first-round loss in the division tournament.

Somehow, some way, the Missy Gators did a U-turn.

They put the clamps on Ridgeland after struggling early, hit a few big shots to get back in the game and a few free throws down the stretch, and stunned top-seeded Ridgeland 47-45 in the first round of the Division 4-5A tournament.

“A lot of people were down on us and didn’t think we could do it. But we showed them we could do it,” said Vicksburg senior forward Karry Callahan, who totaled 20 points, 15 rebounds, five assists, five steals and four blocked shots.

With the win, Vicksburg (12-15) advanced to the championship game Friday at 7 p.m. against either Neshoba Central or tournament host Lanier. Neshoba and Lanier play tonight.

More importantly, the Missy Gators advanced to the state tournament for just the second time since 2007. No matter what happens Friday they’ll get to host a playoff game —in the first round next Monday if they lose in the division championship game, or Feb. 26 in the second round if they win. This was only the program’s fifth win in the month of February in the past 10 seasons.

They also avenged losses of 22 and 17 points to Ridgeland (23-4) in the regular season.

“It just shows the records are out the door,” Vicksburg coach Barbara Hartzog said. “The records don’t show the type of team we are.” We just played like we ought to be playing.”

Ridgeland jumped out to a 19-8 lead at the end of the first quarter and seemed headed for another easy win over the Missy Gators.

In the second quarter, however, Alexis Carter hit three 3-pointers and Micha Williams another to pull Vicksburg even at halftime, 29-29.

The Missy Gators kept Ridgeland in check the rest of the way and led throughout the fourth quarter. Ridgeland center Kayla Simmons, who was a deciding factor in the team’s first two meetings, only scored two points in the last three quarters and finished with six. Jamie Lane was the Lady Titans’ high scorer with 10 points.

“It was defense,” Hartzog said. They were playing good defense on their big girls. (Point guard) Keiyana (Gaskin) was on their center and did a great job.”

Williams’ 3-pointer was her only field goal of the night. She was 1-for-7 from 3-point range and went to the bench for a long stretch, but came back in late to play a pivotal role at the end of the game by hitting two free throws with 1:02 remaining to put the Missy Gators ahead 46-43.

Williams finished with five points.

“She wasn’t having a good shooting night and we went in and hit those. That’s what seniors are there for,” Hartzog said.

Ridgeland hit a shot to cut the margin down to a point, and then Leslee Toole split a pair of free throws with 8 seconds left to put Vicksburg back up 47-45. Ridgeland did not get a shot off before the final buzzer and the Missy Gators escaped with the upset.

“It feels great,” Callahan said. “We got a lot off our chest.”