Being on the big stage in February is nothing new for the Vicksburg Missy Gators. It’s been far too long for their tastes, however, since they’ve been on the biggest stage and they’re ready to change that.

The Missy Gators grinded out a 64-60 victory over Center Hill in the first round of the MHSAA Class 6A girls basketball tournament last Friday. It sent them on to a second-round match-up with Olive Branch (21-8) this Friday, Feb. 21, at Mississippi Valley State University’s R.W. Harrison Complex in Itta Bena.

The Vicksburg-Olive Branch winner will advance to the state semifinals next week at the Mississippi Coliseum in Jackson.

Vicksburg has been to the second round or beyond seven times in eight seasons under head coach Troy Stewart, but its only trip to “The Big House” was in 2020.

“This is where we go. We’re accustomed to this level of basketball and this space in basketball. We’ve gone to that second- or third-round game just about every year except last year,” Stewart said. “This is not uncharted territory for us. This is where we should be. Now we’ve got to punch our ticket to the Coliseum.”

The only time the Missy Gators failed to reach the second round under Stewart was last season. They were knocked out in the first round by Olive Branch.

“I’m going to do all my homework this weekend. But we did play Olive Branch last year,” Stewart said after the win over Center Hill. “They’ve got a superstar guard/forward combo and a decent center. I’ll get some film on them this weekend and we’ll go to work.”

The Missy Gators (18-12) will also need to work on themselves a bit after some sloppy play against Center Hill (12-17) in the first round.

Vicksburg had 17 turnovers and shot only 28 percent from the field, but stayed in the game and eventually prevailed because Center Hill had the same issues.

Vicksburg trailed in every quarter, but used runs at the end of each of the first three to head into the fourth tied 45-45. The last of those runs was a 9-0 burst that was ignited by three steals as a team and a pair of baskets by freshman Zion Knox.

The teams traded runs in the fourth quarter, again capitalizing on each other’s mistakes, before Vicksburg got the last word by finishing on a 10-1 run.

Harvey scored the go-ahead basket with two minutes left to put the Missy Gators ahead 60-59, had another a minute later, then closed it out with two free throws in the last 30 seconds.

Center Hill’s only point in the last two minutes came from a free throw by Karol Key with 25.9 seconds to go. The Mustangs had two turnovers and missed a 3-pointer in the last 30 seconds.

“We just had to motivate each other to keep going and not put your heads down when you make a mistake,” said VHS’ senior guard Harvey, who totaled 30 points, seven rebounds, eight steals and six assists.
Stewart took the blame for the Missy Gators’ struggles. He said he tried some new tactics to deal with Center Hill’s press that didn’t work and “outcoached” himself.

“I think that was on me more than them. The way we learned to break it, I don’t think I needed to change it. We changed it this week and they tried to run it and the changes didn’t work,” Stewart said. “We went back to our old one and it got us across halfcourt pretty well. I think it was more me than them.”

While Harvey and Cynia Johnson (17 points, 19 rebounds) piled up their usual big stats, Stewart said the spark came from younger players who are the future of the program and role players who stepped up in crunch time.

Knox had two baskets during the 9-0 run late in the third quarter that kept Center Hill from pulling away. Senior Raylyn Parson only scored two points but had three steals, including one in the final minute. Several eighth-graders contributed stops on defense.

“I want to give all the credit to those eighth-graders. I played all three of them at the same time, with a ninth-grader, when Cynia was sitting. They were the catalyst for that comeback,” Stewart said. “They got the steals, they got the few points to get us back in the game. Acclimating them earlier this season made a difference tonight.”

Even though it wasn’t the prettiest win, it was the Missy Gators’ fifth in the past seven games and they get to go for another one this Friday. After a five-year absence from the Coliseum with some disappointing playoff losses in between, Stewart said he’s ready to go back.

“We get right to the gate. So I don’t want to jinx this,” he said. “We’ve got to win next Friday.”

MHSAA CLASS 6A TOURNAMENT
Girls
First round
Feb. 14
Vicksburg 64, Center Hill 60
Olive Branch 85, Neshoba Central 76
South Panola 48, Columbus 45
Callaway 56, Lake Cormorant 25
Hancock 58, Forest Hill 26
Terry 55, Picayune 26
West Harrison 71, Hattiesburg 43
West Jones 58, Pascagoula 33

Second round
Feb. 21
At Mississippi Valley State
Vicksburg vs. Olive Branch, 4 p.m.
Callaway vs. South Panola, 7 p.m.
Feb. 22
At Mississippi Gulf Coast CC
Hancock vs. Terry, 1 p.m.
West Jones vs. West Harrison, 2:30 p.m.

Semifinals
At Mississippi Coliseum, Jackson
Feb. 27
Vicksburg-Olive Branch winner vs. West Jones-West Harrison winner, 9 or 10:30 a.m.
Callaway-South Panola winner vs. Hancock-Terry winner, 9 or 10:30 a.m.

Championship
At Mississippi Coliseum, Jackson
March 1
Semifinal winners, 6 p.m.