A rare inter-associational contest between two of the top girls programs in Mississippi resulted in victory for the MHSAA.
Harrison Central used its advantages in height and depth to hold off MAIS powerhouse Presbyterian Christian 52-44 Tuesday night at Rees Gymnasium.
The Red Rebels improved to 14-2 overall, showing little of the effects of three games in three days last week – all victories – in a tournament in Alabama. PCS dropped to 15-5.
“Just coming off Christmas break, we were a little discombobulated a lot of times,” said Harrison Central coach Nancy Ladner. “But the kids found a way to finish the game and found a way to win.”
With a pair of 6-footers in the middle in freshman Saniyah Murray and senior Anaisha Carriere, HC had a distinct advantage in the paint over the smaller Bobcats, and the Red Rebels exploited that advantage whenever they could.
“The size was a definite advantage for us,” said Ladner. “I don’t think we took as much advantage of it as we needed to.”
PCS was on the defensive from the outset, falling behind early 7-0. Freshman Jayla Carriere got a fast-break layup off a steal, Murray got inside for an uncontested layup, then sophomore Michelle Jackson swished a 3-point shot.
“We’re not going to face too many teams that have that kind of size,” said PCS coach Drew Smith. “But it’s not an excuse. We had plenty of opportunities to make plays, and we just didn’t do it.”
The Bobcats finally got things going behind their senior standout Addyson Sherer, who pretty much carried the load for PCS. Sherer drew a foul and converted both free throws, hit an eight-foot jump shot and added another foul shot to narrow the margin.
Harrison Central regained the seven-point lead on three other occasions in the first quarter, but each time, the Bobcats rallied.
“They are big, and the girl in the middle, she’s very good,” said Sherer. “We tried to stop them inside as best we could.
“We’ve just got to work on our defense. That really killed us tonight, second-chance points, not boxing out and the turnovers. We didn’t handle the ball real well when they pressed us, and in our conference, they’re going to press us pretty good.”
Sherer had 10 points in the first quarter and 19 in the first half, but she was held to just five points in the second half. PCS committed 16 turnovers, which hurt its chances.
“We’ve got to have other people step up and make plays,” said Smith. “They didn’t want to do it, and it cost us for sure. We’ve got to be a more complete team than what we are right now if we’re going to do anything in January and February.”
Trailing 18-13 heading into the second quarter, Sherer got a steal that led to a fast-break layup and a foul, then swished a 3-ball to cap a 6-0 run that put the Bobcats ahead 19-18.
Pressure defense in the frontcourt helped, as PCS forced seven turnovers in the second period. However, the Bobcats committed six turnovers of their own, and the Red Rebels regained the momentum.
“We were successful by playing hard defense, moving the ball around and getting open shots,” said Jayla Carriere. “(Murray) is real tall and nobody can really guard her. So we knew we needed to get her the ball.
Anaisha Carriere had a layup to put HC back in front 20-19. Junior Alice Pennebaker nailed an 8-foot jumper to put PCS back in front, but Carriere stepped back for a 15-footer from the right baseline to put the Red Rebels ahead for good 22-21.
Harrison Central led 28-24 at halftime.
“One thing we talked about at halftime was the (Sherer) had 19 of their points,” said Ladner. “What we tried to do was take it out of her hands as much as possible, and I though we did a really good job of that.
“We’ve just got to do a better job of playing defensively without fouling.”
The Red Rebels led by as many as 10 points in the second half, but could never quite put PCS away. Jayla Carriere had nine of her 18 points in the second half, as the Red Rebels went back to the strategy of pounding the ball down low.
Sherer finished with a game-high 24 points, but she only made one field goal in the second half and did not score in the fourth quarter.
“In the second half, they started face-guarding me, so that kind of got to us, I think,” said Sherer. “They did a real good job of stopping me from getting the ball. That was a big part of it.
Jayla Carriere keyed an 8-4 surge for the Red Rebels, driving the lane for a layup, drawing a foul and converting the free throws, then nailed a 16-footer from the top of the key to put HC ahead 37-28.
PCS hung in there through the fourth quarter, and got as close as 45-38, but Carriere took an offensive rebound off a missed foul shot drained a 3-ball from the left wing with 1:51 to play that all but sealed the deal.
“It was wide-open, so I had to hit it,” said Carriere. “Close game, we needed it. We’ve got to get better on defense, because we were letting them get too many open shots.”
Anaisha and Jayla Carriere had 18 points each to lead Harrison Central, and Murray finished with eight points. Pennebaker added eight points for PCS.
“This game gives us a pretty good measuring stick about whether you can win your conference or not,” said Smith. “If we play like this, then we can’t. We’ve got to be tougher mentally, physically and every other way.
“So it was a good measuring stick for us today, and we failed.”
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