Lady Bears eliminated by Bay Springs in 2A quarterfinals
Published 9:34 pm Friday, February 28, 2020
The West Lincoln Lady Bears (19-9) saw their season come to an end Friday afternoon in the MHSAA 2A State Tournament.
The Bay Springs Lady Bulldogs (28-3) jumped out to an early lead and the WL would never catch up in a 66-53 loss at Pearl River Community College in Poplarville.
BSHS jumped up 11-2 in the force quarter and forced WL coach Brooks Smith to call a timeout.
The Bay Springs advantage was 11-6 at the end of the first quarter and 25-20 at halftime.
The Lady Bears never stopped battling though. After trailing 45-33 heading into the fourth quarter WL went on an 11-4 run to make the score 49-44.
The lead was 55-51 with 3:08 remaining in the game, but West Lincoln could get no closer.
Bay Springs moves on to face Coahoma County in the 2A semifinals.
Senior Bailey Wilson led WL with 19 points, five rebounds, four blocks and one steal. Freshman point guard Kara Beth Addison scored 15 points, grabbed three rebounds, made three steals, handed out two assists and blocked a shot.
The Lady Bears got 10 points, five rebounds, three steals and two assists from junior forward Brittany Sturkey. Freshman forward Ta’Kyla Brothern added five points and six rebounds. Senior forward Paige Shedd scored four pints and junior forward Mya Brown grabbed four rebounds.
WL turned the ball over 21 times and shot 19-of-52 from the floor including a 2-of-12 effort from the 3-point line. They did go 13-of-14 from the free throw line.
“I appreciate the support of our fans that made the trip and those that supported us all year,” said Smith. “It’s not the way we wanted the season to end, but the future is still bright. The class of 2019 started something last year that this group continued. I’m proud of the success that our two seniors (Wilson and Shedd) have gotten to experience and I appreciate everything they’ve done for the team as leaders on and off the court.”