Missy Gators and Lady Vikes will meet in first round of Region 2-6A tournament

Published 4:00 pm Sunday, February 2, 2025

For the first time in more than decade, the high school basketball postseason will include a match-up between Vicksburg High and Warren Central.

The Warren County schools’ girls teams will open the MHSAA Region 2-6A tournament Tuesday, with a first-round elimination game against each other at 4 p.m. at Neshoba Central.

It’s the first postseason meeting for the crosstown rivals — either girls or boys — since Vicksburg beat Warren Central in the 2013 Region 3-6A boys’ championship game. The two schools were in different classifications from the 2013-14 season until 2023.

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The Missy Gators (15-11) are the No. 3 seed for the tournament and Warren Central (2-20) is No. 6. Vicksburg swept the season series and has won 12 of the last 13 meetings since 2019.

The winner between the Missy Gators and Lady Vikes will advance to the Class 6A state tournament, and face No. 2 seed Neshoba Central (14-13) in the region semifinals. The top four teams from each of the four region tournaments advances to the state tournament.

In the other first-round girls’ game in Region 2-6A, Ridgeland (10-15) will face Columbus (6-15). The winner will play defending Class 6A champion Callaway (23-3) in the semifinals.

In the boys’ tournament, Vicksburg and Warren Central are on opposite sides of the bracket. Vicksburg (12-14) will play Callaway (10-18) in the first round Tuesday at 5:30 p.m., while Warren Central (5-17) takes on Neshoba Central (12-12) at 8:30.

Both Warren County teams got a good look at their first-round opponents this weekend. Vicksburg beat Callaway 56-32 on Saturday, as Ja’Quez Marshall and Ja’Quez Jones scored 10 points apiece. Marshall also grabbed 12 rebounds for a double-double.

Warren Central lost to Neshoba Central 54-52 on Friday, then lost 64-52 to Columbus on Saturday for its eighth loss in a row. Four of the Vikings’ losses during their streak have been by eight points or less.

The Vicksburg-Callaway winner will advance to play top-seeded Columbus (22-3) in the second round. The Warren Central-Neshoba Central winner gets No. 2 seed Ridgeland (24-4).

All second-round games are on Thursday, and the third-place and championship games on Friday, Feb. 7. The schedule begins at 4 p.m. both days.

MHSAA Region 2-6A Tournament
At Neshoba Central
Girls
Feb. 4
Vicksburg vs. Warren Central, 4 p.m.
Ridgeland vs. Columbus, 7 p.m.
Feb. 6
Vicksburg-Warren Central winner vs. Callaway, 4 p.m.
Ridgeland-Columbus winner vs. Neshoba Central, 7 p.m.
Feb. 7
Third-place game, 4 p.m.
Championship game, 7 p.m.

Boys
Feb. 4
Vicksburg vs. Callaway, 5:30 p.m.
Warren Central vs. Neshoba Central, 8:30 p.m.
Feb. 6
Vicksburg-Callaway winner vs. Columbus, 5:30 p.m.
Neshoba-Warren Central winner vs. Ridgeland, 8:30 p.m.
Feb. 7
Third-place game, 5:30 p.m.
Championship game, 8:30 p.m.

About Ernest Bowker

Ernest Bowker is The Vicksburg Post's sports editor. He has been a member of The Vicksburg Post's sports staff since 1998, making him one of the longest-tenured reporters in the paper's 140-year history. The New Jersey native is a graduate of LSU. In his career, he has won more than 50 awards from the Mississippi Press Association and Associated Press for his coverage of local sports in Vicksburg.

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