As good as advertised. That’s the feeling the Loyd StarLady Hornets had as the fifth-ranked McComb Lady Tigers claimedtheir third straight Brookhaven Coca-Cola Tournament title Saturdaynight in Sinclair Gymnasium, beating Loyd Star 55-47.

In the victory, all-state Lady Tiger guard/forwardSheree Thompson led with an eye-opening 30 points, 14 rebounds, 10blocked shots, nine steals, and two assists.

In the third place game, the Brookhaven Lady Panthersbested Crystal Springs 65-61, led by Nikki Blakely’s 19points.

The Lady Tigers (20-2) seemed out of sync early as theLoyd Star Lady Hornets overwhelmed them with various amounts ofpressure defense to slow their attack. Loyd Star’s plan worked asthe Tiger’s held a slim 10-6 lead after one quarter.

In the second quarter the Lady Tigers kept their four point leadgoing. They held a 19-15 lead at intermission.

The second half featured a Sheree Thompson blitz. Thompsontrounced the Hornets with numerous blocks, steals, and jumpers, enroute to a huge 35-25 lead after three.

The Lady Hornets fought back in the fourth as power forwardChristie May connected on back-to-back three pointers to give LoydStar a seven-point deficit with 1:09 remaining. The Lady Hornetsquickly fouled Thompson on the next possession but she netted bothfree throws and then stole the inbounds pass, setting up teammateEbony Felder for the easy two point layup.

The Hornets fouled the rest of the way, allowing McComb to savorthe hard-fought victory.

“We played very well tonight,” said Lady Tiger coach CarolynWhitehead. “We overcame last night’s game against Crystal Springsand beat a good Loyd Star team.”

Loyd Star coach Lori Britt said her team had a case of nervesentering the championship. They had upset Brookhaven in thesemifinals.

“We played tight, said Coach Britt. “If our girls would ofplayed the entire game like the fourth quarter, we might ofwon.”

Leading Britt’s Hornets was May with 19 points, 13 rebounds, andtwo steals. Dana Coke finished with nine points on three reboundsand two assists.

Elsewhere for the Lady Tigers, Myesha Wayne chipped in with 13points, five rebounds, and three steals. Felder finished with fivepoints, three rebounds, and three assists.

In the consolation game the Brookhaven LadyPanthers slipped pasted the Lady Tigers of Crystal Springs assenior forward Juliana Wallace netted 17 points. Sophomore postsAyana Tillman and Shamika Gilmore added 12 and 10 pointsrespectively for Coach Ronald Gill’s 13-9 Lady Panthers.

Brookhaven carried a 45-44 lead into the fourth quarter.

For the Lady Tigers of Crystal Springs, Stacy Lee led with 17points and three steals.

Sophomore Antrineka Herbert finished with 15 points and 10rebounds.

GIRLS CHAMPIONSHIP

McComb 55, Loyd Star 47

McComb (55) Sheree Thompson 30, Wayne 13, Felder 5,Martin 4, Brown 2, Perkins 2.

Loyd Star (47) Christie May 19, Coke 9, B. Smith 6, L.Smith 4, J. Henderson 4, Townsend 4.

Total Fouls : McComb 14. Loyd Star 15.

Free Throw M-A : McComb 10-13. Loyd Star10-17.

3-Point Goals : May 2, B. Smith, Wayne.

Loyd Star 6 9 10 22 – 47

McComb 10 9 16 20 – 55

CONSOLATION

Brookhaven 65, Crystal Springs 61

Brookhaven (65) Nikki Blakely 19, Wallace 17, Tillman12, Gilmore 10, Watkins 4, Stanton 3.

Crystal Springs (61) Stacey Lee 17, Herbert 15, Coleman12, Jenkins 12, Wilson 5.

Total Fouls-Brookhaven 12. Crystal Springs18.

Free Throw M-A : Brookhaven 18-21. Crystal Springs6-7

3-Point Goals : Wallace 2, Coleman, Lee.

Crystal Springs 17 13 14 17 – 61

Brookhaven 16 14 15 20 – 65