MHSAA 3A girls basketball playoffs: Region foes Booneville, Belmont to play for state title

The two programs, separated by just 30 miles, will meet in Jackson Friday with a golden ball on the line

The Belmont and Booneville girls will meet for a third time after all.

Behind the stellar play of point guard Carlie Brock, the Lady Cardinals used a big second half to get past Jefferson Davis County 59-37 in the Semifinal Round of the MHSAA Girls Class 3A Basketball Playoffs at the Mississippi Coliseum on Monday night.

The Lady Cardinals (23-6) and Lady Devils will meet for the Class 3A State Championship at 10 a.m. Friday morning.

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“I was extremely proud of Carlie she is our floor general," Belmont coach Chris Higginbottom said. "The way (Jeff Davis County) was playing defense, I really needed her with the basketball. She’s very dangerous when she has the basketball and is in control of the game, so she did exactly what I needed her to do.”

Booneville has beaten Belmont two times earlier in the year in games that came down to the final possessions: 59-56 on Feb. 2 and 61-54 on Feb. 9 in the Region 1-3A district tournament championship game. The Lady Devils blew past Port Gibson 58-28 in the first semifinal game Monday.

“With Booneville, we know each other so well," Higginbottom said. "And since we’re back in 3A, we’ve had some battles, so I don’t expect Friday to be any different. We’re two even matched teams that are both really good teams. The game will come down to who executes better.”

Friday's championship is also shaping up to be a showcase for two of Class 3A's best players — back-to-back Miss Basketball Award winner Sa'niyah Cook from Booneville and Belmont's splendid point guard Brock, who finished with 30 points in Monday's semifinal win.

“Second half, we picked it up as a team and handled the pressure better," Brock said. " It was a physical game... I expect the same thing with Booneville — it’ll be a physical and fast paced game. It’s two really good teams playing for the state championship.”

Morgan Johnson had 14 points to lead Jefferson Davis County. The Lady Jaguars finished the year 27-5.

Booneville had a much easier day trip to the office Monday.

Kaylee Johnson scored 16 first half points as the Lady Devils raced past the Lady Blue Wave with a running clock in the second half thanks to the mercy rule.

“The girls knew coming in that we needed to get out to a fast start," Boonville coach Michael Smith said. "Once we got going, we made an effort to make them go really fast. We play in a way where it’s a lot of fun to watch our girls play and they play hard. Kaylee is one of the best shooters in the state, and when she can make shots we’re very dangerous.”

Booneville scored 30 points off turnovers in the first half. Cook added 11 points and Ava Kate Smith had 10 points for the Lady Devils, the two-time defending Class 3A state champions.

Camara Evans had 8 points to lead Port Gibson (20-8).

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