FOREST — A year ago, a trio of teams from Division 5-2A had their own little party at “The Big House” — while a couple of teams like Scott Central were left at home wondering what might have been.

Here Monday night, the Lady Rebels took another big step toward making sure they’re a part of the festivities this season.

Scott Central opened with a commanding 42-5 run, and the Lady Rebels coasted to a 69-35 win over visiting Clarkdale in the opening round of the MHSAA Class 2A state playoffs.

The win not only improved the Lady Rebels to 25-4 on the season, it also means they’ll host the Class 2A South State Tournament which begins Thursday.

Scott Central coach Chad Harrison said there’s no doubt that 5-2A’s presence in the postseason last year had an impact on his team — especially when the Lady Rebels were eliminated from the 2008 division tourney with a last-second loss to Lake.

“That Lake game was tied with about 20 seconds left and they scored on a free throw with 4 seconds left,” Harrison said. “We called a timeout and actually drew up a play and had a shot to win it.

“Lake went on and made the Coliseum, and not only made it, but won a game over there,” Harrison said. “We knew then we were so close then, so it was definitely a big motivational factor for us this year.”

Not only did Lake make it to Jackson, but so did Philadelphia and Kemper County. All three won a game before Kemper and Philly were beaten by state champ H.W. Byers.

It’s certainly a possibility 5-2A could have two or three representatives in Jackson again this season. Scott Central, Kemper and Newton all won Monday — although the fourth-ranked Lady Rebels now must face second-ranked East Marion in Thursday’s 7 p.m., loser-go-home quarterfinal contest.

Monday night, Scott Central got a game-high 26 points from Newton transfer Tyisha Amos — while veterans Kelcia Bufkin (21) and Quentinette Odom (15) combined for 36 points.

Harrison said Amos could be the piece of the puzzle the Lady Rebels were missing a year ago.

“We thought we had a chance to be real good this year,” he said. “But when Amos moved it, it just took us to another level.

“She gave us that offensive rebounder that we haven’t had in quite a while.”

Quite possibly since the 1999-2000 season, when Ashley Brown was a big presence in the post and Harrison’s squad won the Class 1A state championship.

“We certainly hope we’ve got a shot to win it again,” he said .”We’ve just got to get there first.”

Scott Central was never challenged Monday, opening with a 10-1 run and leading 25-5 at the end of the first quarter.

It was more of the same in the second period, and the Lady Rebels had a commanding 44-12 lead at halftime.

Katie Patrick contributed team-highs of seven rebounds and five steals for Scott Central — which forced the visiting Lady Bulldogs into 38 turnovers.

Clarkdale, meanwhile, saw its season come to an end with a 13-13 record.

The Lady Bulldogs — who enjoyed a monstrous advantage on the boards in all three of their games in the Division 7-2A Tournament a week ago — were out-rebounded 34-31 Monday night and struggled with the Scott Central pressure from the outset.

Still, the future looks bright for coach Jeff Davis’ bunch, which started two freshmen and an eighth-grader and has just one senior — Kyai Forney — who saw significant action down the season’s stretch run.

Charmaine Tims, one of those freshmen, led the Lady Bulldogs Monday with 15 points while Forney chipped in seven. Lindsey Beard, another freshman, scored six points.

Tims and Crystal Clay — the eighth-grader who averaged better than 20 rebounds in last week’s 7-2A tourney — each had six rebounds.