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ICC meets Meridian Monday night at regional

Itawamba Community College’s Lady Indians will open Region 23 tournament play on Monday night at 8:00 p.m. against Meridian Community College.

“Meridian is a very athletic squad that can shoot the 3,” said ICC head coach Nanci Gray.

“We better bring our defensive intensity and play like we did at the state tourney against Southwest and in the second half of the Co-Lin game (in the semi-finals).”

Gray and her squad bring an 18-9 mark into the regional, while the Lady Eagles are 24-6 on the season.  ICC is led in scoring by Lori Crudup‘s 14.5 ppg, while Birdie Bowens is averaging 10 points a contest.  Meridian is led by Sharda’e Johnson‘s 14 a night, including 28 in the league championship last week.

ICC faces Jones County on Tuesday

For the second straight year, Itawamba Community College will battle Jones County Junior College in the quarterfinals of the men’s Region 23 tournament at Mississippi College in Clinton.  Last year, the Indians upset the state champion Bobcats to advance to the semi-finals.

This season, the two perennial powers will collide in the first game on Tuesday at noon.

“I think we’re going to face a feisty Bobcats bunch after they lost a late lead in the state semi-finals against East Mississippi and lost the game in overtime,” said ICC head coach Marty Cooper.

“Anytime you face a Bubba Skelton coached team, you’re going up against a squad that is a threat to make it to (NJCAA National Tournament) Hutchinson, Kansas, which he’s done before six different times.”

ICC is 18-9, while JCJC is 17-9 and both teams finished second in their divisions during the regular season.  The Indians are led in scoring and rebounding by Vincenzo Nelson (12.5 ppg, 7.5 rpg), while Melvin Morgan is averaging 12 points a contest, including 28 in the state semi-final loss to eventual state champion, Pearl River.

The two teams split their regular season games with each team winning on the opponent’s home floor.

You’ll be able to listen to all of the Itawamba post-season games on WAFM-FM (95.7) along with the college website, www.iccms.edu, including Monday night’s game beginning at 7:40 p.m. and 11:40 p.m. on Tuesday.

Tigers hit the hardwood on Tuesday
NECC Sports Information Department

Northeast Mississippi Community College will travel to Clinton on Tuesday, March 2 to take part in the Region XXIII Basketball Tournament at Mississippi College and will face the MACJC North Division Champs East Mississippi.

First round action will tip-off in Clinton on March 2 at noon with Jones Junior College taking on ICC in game one while game two will feature the MACJC State Champion Pearl River Wildcats facing Southern Shreveport (La.) at 2 p.m.  The evening match-ups will be Delgado Community College (La.) verses Hinds followed by Northeast taking on East Mississippi in the nightcap.

Coach David Robbins’ team split with the Lions in the regular season dropping the first game in Scooba 71-64 but was able to defeat EMCC at Bonner Arnold Coliseum on February 18 on a final of 71-67.

Tip-off time for the Tigers/Lions match-up is set for 8 p.m. and will be available on ESPN Radio 96.3 and via the web

JACKSON—Saturday, the Ripley Lady Tigers used an inside-outside attack to move one step closer to a state title.

Guard Shunquest Howell connected on four of five 3-pointers and post player Becca Ruckes was a perfect seven of seven from the paint, as the Lady Tigers rolled to a 71-51 victory over the Choctaw Lady Warriors in the semifinals of the MHSAA 3A girls’ state tournament.

The win sets up a fifth and final rematch with the Belmont Lady Cardinals for the 3A state championship Friday, March 5, at the Big House.  The Lady Tigers are 0-4 so far this season against the Lady Cardinals.

“That’s exactly what we wanted,” said Ripley coach Katie Bates, referring to the rematch with Belmont. “That was our whole motivation for this game. We wanted them, we asked for them, and now we’re getting them.”

The Lady Tigers(23-9) used that motivation to beat a Lady Warrior team that had won nine of their last 10 ball games, including the South Half Championship.

Howell, who finished with 15 points, put Ripley ahead 10-2 with 4:20 to play the first quarter with her >>> click here to read more from Kedrick Storey at Tippah360.com

JACKSON – Make no mistake about it, Bree Harris has probably never taken a shot she thought she couldn’t make.

That’s called a shooter’s mentality. New Site’s senior gunner has it – hit or miss.

“I just keep shooting,” she says.

Harris blasted away Friday inside the spacious Mississippi Coliseum, connecting on five 3-pointers and scoring a game-high 23 points to lead the Lady Royals past Hinds County AHS, 57-39, and into the championship game of the MHSAA 2A state tournament.

The victory puts New Site (31-1) in Thursday’s 7 p.m. state title game against the winner of today’s Broad Street-Newton game. The Lady Royals lost in the semifinals to Kemper County last season.

“That was like a knife in the heart,” Harris said. “We’re using that to motivate us. This is our time.”

Her fellow Prentiss County shootist, Krystal Jackson, added two 3-pointers and scored 21 points. She also grabbed 11 rebounds.

“It was phenomenal to see them hit those kind of shots in a coliseum setting,” Hinds AHS coach Bruce Baker said.

New Site got enough firepower from Harris and Jackson for a >>> click here to read more from Gene Phelps.

JACKSON – Ingomar High boys coach Norris Ashley can put off answering questions about his last game as a basketball coach for another day.

The 62-year-old coach – who will likely retire after this season, his 39th at Ingomar – led his Falcons team to an impressive 70-56 victory over Durant in front of an estimated crowd of 1,800 for Friday afternoon’s MHSAA Class 1A state tournament semifinal at the Mississippi Coliseum.

However, from the second quarter through the middle of the fourth quarter, Ashley’s squad was in a closely-contested battle.

“We knew that they were going to press us and we knew that they had a lot of quickness,” Ashley said of Durant, which battled back from a 15-point first-half deficit to >>> click here to read more from John Wilbert of the NEMS Daily Journal.

JACKSON – West Lincoln’s best defense against Myrtle’s 6-foot scoring and rebounding machine Aspriona Gilbert was a cinnamon roll.

Actually, the lack of one.

Gilbert scored a sweet 23 points and grabbed eight rebounds, all in the first half Friday, to lead Myrtle to a convincing 57-30 victory against the South Mississippi entry in the semifinals of the MHSAA Class 1A girls state tournament.

Gilbert, who skipped breakfast at the team motel, felt nauseated at the >>> click here to read more from Gene Phelps at NEMS360.com

JACKSON – It was bombs away behind the 3-point line and into the MHSAA Class 1A championship game next Thursday for the McAdams High boys basketball team.

The Bulldogs knocked down 10 3-pointers to defeat Myrtle 68-65 in a Class 1A State Tournament semifinal game in front of an estimated 1,250 fans at the Mississippi Coliseum Friday morning.

McAdams’ point guard Patrick Lewis scored 15 points Friday, but it was his ability to drive that hurt the Hawks.

“It starts with the Lewis kid,” said Mrytle coach Jonathan Ashley, whose team finished the season at 28-6. “He is an exceptional point guard that can >>> click here to read more from John Wilbert.

The Baldwyn Bearcats defeated the Loyd Star Hornets 57-55 on Friday to advance to the MHSAA Class 2A State Championship against West Bolivar Thursday at 8:30 p.m. at the Mississippi Coliseum.

Loyd Star head coach Gene Britt spoke with W07BN Sports and GoreSports.net after the game.

Baldwyn’s Coach Jason McKay was busy with his radio post-game show and was not available for comment.

JACKSON – Jason Thompson winced when he thought back to the final four minutes of Friday’s MHSAA 1A state tournament semifinal game against defending champ McAdams.

He watched his H.W. Byers club rally from a 17-point deficit in the third quarter to cut the Lady Bulldogs’ lead to eight points twice down the stretch in an eventual 56-44 loss.

“We had a chance to cut it to six twice, once on a missed layup, another time when I had a guard turn the ball over … off her leg,” he said.

“Give McAdams credit. Down the stretch they scrapped for loose balls and rebounds when we made our run.”

In the end, McAdams (26-2) had too much Gilmore – sisters Kierra and Dierra – and Kanesha Phillips for the Lady Lions.

Kierra Gilmore scored 21 points and Dierra added 10, but their combined total was 19 points per game below their >>> click here to read more from Gene Phelps.

Jerry Scott/Arkansas State Sports Information Department

JONESBORO – Arkansas State head football coach Steve Roberts announced Friday that Hugh Freeze, who compiled a 20-5 record the last two seasons at the helm of the Lambuth University football program, has been named the Red Wolves new offensive coordinator and football coach.

Freeze was named San Jose State’s offensive coordinator on January 5 of this year, but spent less than two months with the Spartans’ program before coming to Arkansas State.

Freeze was named the American Football Coaches Association’s Southeast Region Coach of the Year and in 2009 after leading the Eagles to their best regular season in school history with an 11-0 record.  Under Freeze’s direction, Lambuth won the Mid-South Conference West Division, advanced to the second round of the NAIA playoffs for the first time since 1999, finished the year with a 12-1 mark and ascended to the No. 6 ranking in NAIA.

The Mid-South Conference Coach of the Year oversaw the offense and called the plays for a Lambuth team that averaged over 40 points per game and ranked ninth nationally in total yards per game (465 ypg).  The Eagles also ranked first in the nation in fourth down conversions, fourth in first downs per game and third down conversions, fifth in passing offense and eighth in scoring offense per game.

“We are very excited about adding coach Freeze to our staff,” said Roberts.  “He is a great person, an outstanding recruiter and has experienced success everywhere he has been.  Offensively, his system has been extremely successful, and his plan has been to utilize tempo and a wide open approach incorporating the spread offense.”

“The opportunity to come back near home to be a coordinator for a great man and coach like Steve Roberts, in a wonderful place like Jonesboro and at an outstanding university like Arkansas State, was an excellent opportunity for me and my family that I could not pass up,” said Freeze.

Prior to taking over as head coach at Lambuth, Freeze served as interim head coach at the University of Mississippi in November of 2007 and was an assistant coach with the Rebels from 2005-07.  He was named the Rebels’ recruiting coordinator and tight ends coach before the 2006 season after originally serving as Assistant Athletic Director for Football External Affairs upon his arrival in Oxford.

In his first year as recruiting coordinator, he helped bring in the nation’s 13th ranked recruiting class, the highest in the history of the program.  Freeze was responsible for the recruitment of nine signees, including two that went on to be named Freshman All-America, in the class alone.

While maintaining his duties as recruiting coordinator, he moved to wide receivers coach in 2007 and tutored two players that were ranked among the top-15 players in receiving in the SEC.  Ole Miss’ 2007 signing class was ranked 25th nationally and he was responsible for nine commitments in the 2008 signing class.

Before going to Ole Miss, Freeze served 13 years at Briarcrest Christian School in Memphis, Tenn., as a classroom teacher, coach and administrator.  He was the Saints head football coach from 1995 to 2004, running the no huddle “spread system” for six years that led to six straight state championship games.

Freeze compiled a 99-23 record, which included an undefeated season in 1996, while at Briarcrest and led the school to state championship titles in 2002 and 2004.  Briarcrest won regional championships in 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001 and 2002, and Freeze was named the Region 8-AA Coach of the Year five times and Associated Press Coach of the Year four times.

Before assuming the role of head coach at Briarcrest, Freeze served as the Saints offensive coordinator and defensive backs coach from 1992-1994 as the Saints reached the TSSAA state semifinals twice.

A 1988 graduate of Senatobia (Miss.) High School, Freeze earned his bachelor’s degree in mathematics with a minor in coaching and sports administration from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1992.

Hugh and his wife, Jill, are the parents of three daughters, Ragan, Jordan, and Madison.

Welcome to Week 20 of Rewind Wednesday, where we catch up with a former high school standout athlete from Mississippi. With the State Tournament tipping off Friday at 9 a.m. with Myrtle taking on West Lincoln, today we catch up with former Myrtle basketball star Armintie Price.

Price, a two-time All-State selection, averaged 31 points, 22 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 steals in 2003, when she led the school to a 37-1 record and the Class 1A state championship. She scored a Girls State Tournament-record 51 points plus had 25 rebounds and 9 steals vs. West Lowndes in the title game.

Price went on to earn All-American honors at Ole Miss and was the third overall pick in the 2007 WNBA draft by the Chicago Sky. She was traded to Atlanta in August.

She is one of just two players in NCAA history to record 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, 400 assists and 400 steals in her career.

The other is former Southern California star Cheryl Miller.

RW: What are you doing these days?

AP: I’m an assistant coach at Ole Miss. I started that right after the WNBA season ended. I scout the next game we are going to play. I also practice with the girls because I head back for my season on April 23. That’s about it. Just trying to get these girls into the NCAA Tournament and trying to stay in shape myself.

RW: What was it like for you when you found out you got traded, going from Chicago to Atlanta?

AP: The assistant coach for Atlanta is Carol Ross, who was my coach at Ole Miss, so it actually >>> read more Rod Walker of Clarion Ledger.