The Vicksburg Missy Gators’ state championship dreams evaporated in a span of eight minutes on Friday.

The Missy Gators did not score for the first five minutes of the second quarter, fell behind by 21 points at halftime, and lost 75-44 to Olive Branch in the second round of the MHSAA Class 6A girls basketball state tournament.

“The pressure that they applied to us hurt us. We barely got it across halfcourt. The constant pressure they put on you worked,” Vicksburg coach Troy Stewart said. “The girls played their hearts out. They worked as hard as they possibly could. If anything, we were just outplayed. They were a better team today.”

The game was tied 18-all after a back-and-forth first quarter, but Olive Branch grabbed firm control in the second. It started with an 11-0 run over the first five minutes and opened a 44-23 lead at halftime.

Olive Branch stretched it out to 66-33 by the end of the third quarter and cruised home to the win.

Cynia Johnson led Vicksburg with 20 points, Zion Harvey had nine and Carjessa Albert scored eight.

Caleigh Nix was Olive Branch’s high scorer with 19 points. Gabby Bowen was right behind her with 16, and Jayde Matthews finished with 11. The Conquistadors made seven 3-pointers in the game.

“The plan in the second half was to try and get back into the game one possession at a time by getting a stop on their end and scoring on our end,” Stewart said. “But it didn’t work like that because they started making 3s. We protected the paint. They just started knocking down shots. Every time I made an adjustment, they made a better adjustment. It was a rough game.”

Olive Branch (22-8) advanced to face either West Jones (25-4) or West Harrison (25-5), who meet in a second-round game Saturday. Olive Branch is headed to the semifinals for the seventh time in 12 seasons, but first since 2021.

Vicksburg (18-13) reached the second round of the state tournament for the seventh time in eight seasons, but has only been past that point twice. Its last trip to Jackson for the semifinals was in 2020.

Olive Branch eliminated Vicksburg from the state tournament for the second year in a row. Although they came up a bit short of their goal, Stewart said he was very proud of his team.

The Missy Gators improved from 10 wins last season to 18 this year while maintaining their spot as a state championship contender. Two seniors, point guard Zion Harvey and post Cynia Johnson, signed with Holmes County Community College this week.

“We overachieved. We were at a place, today, at Valley where we had an opportunity to play for a state championship,” Stewart said. “There are 24 teams in 6A and only eight of them had an opportunity to play. No one saw us. No one in Vicksburg expected us to do as well as we did. So my ladies overachieved and I’m proud of them in every aspect.”

Stewart also thanked the VHS fans for their support this season.

“We thank the community for coming out and supporting us the way that they did, especially today,” Stewart said. “We meant to put on a better show, but the results came out like that. But the community supported us and we appreciate them.”