Macie Phifer, Ingomar earn Class 1A title shot with 37-28 win over Simmons

The Falcons didn't play their best game, but did enough to slip into Thursday's title game against Biggersville

JACKSON — Ingomar will get a shot at revenge — and a state title — after grinding out a 37-28 win over Simmons in the Class 1A State Tournament Monday morning at the Mississippi Coliseum.

The Falcons (37-1) will face reigning champion Biggersville, the team that knocked them out of the playoffs last year, in the championship game at 1 p.m. Thursday.

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To win that one, they’ll need to play a much cleaner game than they did Monday.

“I’m sure (the Lions) are licking their chops after watching our last two games,” Ingomar coach Trent Adair said. “We’ll need to play much better.”

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Despite the slow offensive game, the Falcons found a way Monday thanks to unsung heroes Daylen Grisham and Cadie Jo Byrd.

The Falcons erased a 16-14 halftime deficit, out-scoring Simmons 16-6 in the third quarter to pull away.

They shot 28 percent as a team and turned the ball over 21 times — uncharacteristic of a team that has absolutely dominated in the basketball-crazy Northeast corner of the Magnolia State.

Ingomar star Macie Phifer, the Class 1A Miss Basketball winner, made six of her 17 shot attempts for a game-high 17 points.

“We haven’t played well here lately, but I think that could actually be to our advantage,” Phifer said. “We know we have to play better. We’ve known it was going to be Biggersville at the end, because they’ve got a great team. But we’ve got a game plan for it and we just need to execute.”

Akiah Prince led Simmons with 10 points. Jamira Scott chipped in two for the Blue Devils (23-3).