PHILADELPHIA — The Neshoba Central High School Lady Rockets defeated the Lady Mavericks of Germantown High School 52-24 to advance to the next round of the MHSAA Class 5A basketball tournament. 

Coach Fred Morris saw his team execute the game plan to perfection to take the victory in a game that was never in doubt, with Neshoba Central leading the entire contest. 

“This is just unbelievable,” Morris said. “From where we started and where we’re at now is just unbelievable. A lot of people doubted us, because we aren’t very big and we don’t look like a typical 5A team, and I am so proud of these young ladies.”

Relissia Ray nailed four 3-point shots out of seven attempts, and Jasmine Chickaway played lockdown defense on the Lady Mavericks’ leading scorer, Essence Lambert. The Lady Rockets kept the ball moving on the offensive end to set up Ray with open looks to coast to the victory. 

“Jasmine Chickaway is relentless on defense, and she always matches up with our opponent’s leading scorer, and our offense is something the kids know like the back of their hands,” Morris said. “They’ve been running this system for four years; our offense is predicated on our defensive play, and Jasmine’s defensive play helped set the pace tonight.”

Ray found her stroke midway through the first quarter, and it was all Lady Rockets from that point on. 

“The ball movement set me up,” Ray said. “I couldn’t have done it without my teammates moving the ball. We try at least five passes, and then one of us is usually open. Patience and defense is what we try to use, and tonight it payed off.” 

Neshoba Central jumped out to a 6-0 lead with Andria Carter hitting two layups and Taylor Ben adding another off of steals on the defensive end. Carter accounted for eight first-quarter points, driving to the basket and causing the Lady Mavericks to close the lane, which opened things up for Ray to get her outside looks. Neshoba led 20-5 after one quarter of play. 

Carter and Ray kept the offense going in the second frame with four points apiece, and Chickaway was like a glove on the defensive end to give the Lady Rockets a 31-9 lead at halftime. 

The Lady Mavericks got on a run in the third quarter, but Ray sank a trey and Carter split the defense with a drive for a layup to end the threat, and Kaylee Routh sank a 3-pointer from the corner as the buzzer sounded giving the Lady Rockets a 46-21 lead with one quarter left to play. 

The final period was all defense, with Neshoba outpacing Germantown 6-3 to take the 52-24 win. 

Ray ended the night with 22 points. Carter added 14 points and pulled down six rebounds. Ben tossed in nine points and grabbed seven rebounds. 

The Lady Rockets (16-10) will face Hattiesburg next Friday in the next round of the tournament.