RAYMOND — For the first time since 1991 Loyd Star is headed back to the big house.
Behind the play of Maddi Kate Britt the Lady Hornets held off North Forrest 51-44 in the Third Round of the MHSAA Girls Class 2A basketball playoffs at Raymond High School on Saturday afternoon.
Loyd Star (17-8) extends their win streak to 13 games and will face New Site at the Mississippi Coliseum on Wednesday morning at 10:30 a.m.
“The motto for us for the past three weeks is just find a way to win. It’s not always pretty, but we find a way to get the job done,” said Loyd Star coach Rusty Newman. “Proud of the girls. They figured out a way to get it done despite turning the ball over at times and missing some free throws.”
It was a back-and-forth first quarter with the Lady Hornets and Lady Eagles tied at 11-11.
North Forrest took a brief 15-11 lead to begin the second quarter, but Loyd Star followed with an 11-0 run to take a 22-15 lead and Britt hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Lady Hornets a 25-17 halftime lead.
In the third quarter every time North Forrest cut into the Loyd Star lead the Lady Hornets answered with a basket as they held 38-30 lead heading into the final quarter.
In the final frame North Forrest began the quarter on a 10-5 run highlighted by a Arielle Sims hit a three-pointer to cut the Loyd Star lead down to 43-40.
Camille Creel scored the next four points for the Lady Hornets to stretch the lead out to 47-40 with two minutes remaining.
Britt made a pair of free throws with 14 seconds left to give Loyd Star a 50-42 lead to seal the win.
Britt had 21 points to lead Loyd Star, while Creel added 11 points.
“We knew we had to key on Adams and when she got in foul trouble and she was taken out of the game we had to take advantage and slow the pace down,” Newman said. “The right shots went in at the right time and got the job done. This is my 21st year of coaching and my first time going to the coliseum and proud for the school and the community for getting back.”
Brooklyn Adams had a game-high 29 points to lead North Forrest. The Lady Eagles end the season (24-8).
“We came out strong offensively, but defensively they made us pay for our mistakes,” said North Forrest coach John Brown. “They played hard and we didn’t match it and we gave too many second chance opportunities. We played hard and made a comeback in the fourth quarter but it was too little too late. Proud of the girls for playing hard and getting us back here for the first time nine years and the standard now is going forward is to get back here and go further in the playoffs.”
