Wesson teams tap St. Aloysius

Published 6:00 am Friday, January 4, 2002

WESSON – A mid-court three-pointer at the buzzer by reserveRachel Ryan broke a 10-game losing streak for the Wesson LadyCobras and gave them a 40-37 win over the St. Aloysius Lady Flashesof Vicksburg Thursday night. The Lady Cobras are 1-10.

In the boys game, the Cobras placed four players in doublefigures as they whipped the Flashes in the final three quarters fora 69-41 win.

With 1.6 seconds left to play, the St. Aloysius girls (8-7) wereinbounding the ball under the Wesson goal when Ryan intercepted thepass and shot the game-winner.

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“I just got the ball,” said Ryan following the game, “Thepractice is paying off. I’m excited. It was well deserved for ourteam.” Ryan, who is playing varsity basketball for the first timethis year, is a junior post player.

The Lady Cobras trailed the Lady Flashes 12-7 after the firstquarter and 24-20 at the half. Wesson cut the deficit to one point,29-28, going into the final frame.

“It feels good,” said first-year Wesson girls basketball coachScott Johnson. “I am happy for the girls. They didn’t give up.”

Senior forward Kail Baldwin led the Lady Cobras with 12 points.Mandi Curtis netted nine points. Baldwin and starters Anna Johnsonand Maggie Johnson fouled out with a minute left to play.

Leading the Lady Flashes with 10 points was Carol Nels. KellyHayden finished with seven points.

The Wesson boys (2-8) notched their second win of the seasonlast night. St. Aloysius (5-8) outplayed Wesson in the firstquarter, taking a 16-7 lead. The Cobras picked up the tempo andbegan hitting the backboards late in the second quarter to take a28-27 lead over the Flashes at the buzzer on a putback by seniorcenter Billy Ray Miller.

In the third quarter, the Cobras went on a 23-2 run for a 51-30lead with 2:04 left. In the fourth quarter, Wesson pushed it leadto 28 points, 59-31, before St. Aloysius netted another point atthe 6:38 mark.

“I was disappointed the way we came out,” said Wesson boysbasketball coach Billy O. Britt. “We got our running game going. Iwas pleased with the board work. We ran the break well.”

Senior forward Richie Miller fired in 18 points and grabbed forthe Cobras. Roderick Clay collected 15 points and 11 rebounds.Contributing 12 points apiece were David Smith and MarcusCorley.

Matt Horn paced St. Aloysius with 12 points. Victor Segersnetted 10 points.

Wesson entertains Richland tonight for three games. The juniorvarsity boys game begins at 5 p.m.