Northeast Lauderdale’s Trinity Anderson tries to lay in a shot under pressure from Ripley’s Siarra Jackson during the MHSAA Class 4 A quarter finals at Mississippi Valley State University.

ITTA BENA — A two-loss team on a 20-game winning streak was just too much for the Northeast Lauderdale girls basketball team.

Playing from behind all evening, the Lady Trojans kept their deficit to seven at halftime, but a lull in the third quarter opened the game up for the Lady Tigers, who raced past their opponents in the second half for a 57-42 victory in the MHSAA Class 4A quarterfinals Friday at Mississippi Valley State University.

“I thought we could’ve played them a little better. I thought we could’ve played with them,” Northeast head coach Lewis Lightsey said. “We were going to have to play really well to beat them.”

Brittney Wells finished with a team-high 10 points and added five rebounds for Northeast (18-13). Trinity Anderson scored nine points, and Molly Moore, Eboni Alford and Kennedi Jimison each tallied five points. 

Amelya Hatch ended with a game-high 19 points for Ripley (30-2), while Summer Kirkman scored 13 points and Siarra Jackson added 13 points, six rebounds and five steals. 

“For us, Brittney Wells answered the bell early; got some big baskets and held (Siarra) Jackson down in the first half,” Lightsey said. “We didn’t get Kennedi Jimison enough shots; that hurt us. They did a good job taking that away from us.” 

Kirkman made three of her squad’s four 3-pointers in the first quarter as the Lady Tigers grabbed an early 10-point advantage. They took an early 18-10 lead into the second quarter, where the Lady Trojans were able to pick up five consecutive points thanks in part to a layup and free throw by Anderson to cut their deficit to five midway through the period. Ripley ended the brief run with a shot from beyond the arc and led 26-19 at intermission.

Hatch had seven points through the first nine minutes of the contest but we kept quiet for the rest of the half. After Rivers Adams earned the Lady Tigers’ first four points of the third period, however, Hatch scored her team’s next 12 points as Ripley stretched its lead out to 20 points, 42-22, with one and a half minutes left in the frame. 

Northeast managed five straight points off three free throws and a putback by Tamorrea Marsh, before Kirkman drilled a deep two at the buzzer to put Ripley up 45-27 heading into the fourth quarter. 

The Lady Trojans were outscored 19-8 in the third.   

“We’ve had some third-quarter blues this year, and that happened to us again,” Lightsey said. “We didn’t respond and come out well. We ran two or three good plays there and got some decent shots off, but they didn’t go in. (Ripley) was able to go down and score on their shots, so that kind of opened it up from there.”

Jackson, who had five points through the first 24 minutes, scored the first two baskets of the final quarter to give the Lady Tigers their largest lead of the game at 26 points. Jackson finished with eight points in the fourth to reach double digits and help preserve Ripley’s 21st-consecutive victory.

Northeast managed 15 points in the fourth period, its most of the contest. Wells scored four points, Moore hit a 3 and Alford grabbed an offensive rebound and earned a basket. It’s the second-straight year the Lady Trojans reached the quarterfinals of the Class 4A playoffs.  

“We had a great season. There were nothing but great teams left. We played a hard schedule, a hard division, and they’ve got nothing to hang their heads about,” Lightsey said. “We got beat by a great team who’s got a chance to win it all. To get experience like this for next year, hopefully we can get to the semifinals or finals instead of getting stuck right here at the quarterfinals.”