HEIDELBERG – The Loyd Star Lady Hornets were victorious Monday night as they defeated the Heidelberg Lady Oilers 51-46 in the opening round of the MSHAA South State 2A girls playoffs.

With the win, the Lady Hornets (16-11) advance to the second round of the South State playoffs that will resume Thursday. The Loyd Star’s girls will visit Puckett to participate in the girls’ 2A tournament as they prepare to battle the Marshall Lady Tigers at 5:30 p.m.

The Loyd Star’s boys will be in action today as they travel to Bay Springs to take on the Bay Springs Bulldogs starting at 7 p.m.

Loyd Star 51, Heidelberg 46 

The Lady Hornets did not let a long road trip disrupt their focus Monday night as they took it to the Lady Oilers in the opening quarter to grab a 14-12 lead and continued to fight hard to seize a 24-18 lead at halftime.

In the second half, Heidelberg came out strong and outscored Loyd Star 28-27, but could not overcome Loyd Star’s big lead to knock off the Lady Hornets.

Junior forward Marcey Givens was the offensive leader for the Lady Hornets with 18 points. Jordan Shelby provided a double-double performance for Loyd Star with 14 points and 11 rebounds.

“This was probably the best game we played all year,” said Loyd Star coach Gene ‘Moochie’ Britt. “We shot the ball really well offensively and had great team defense. The girls did a outstanding job overall against a very good Heidelberg squad.”

Kyesha Jones paced the Lady Oiler’s offense with a game-high 20 points. Eden Windham contributed 11 points.