By Marty Stamper / staff writer
The Meridian Star
March 13, 2006 07:43 am
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JACKSON — The Big House run has ended with three area teams bringing home state championships as souvenirs.
Of the eight area teams that qualified for this year's MHSAA State Basketball Tournament, six reached their respective championship game.
That's unprecedented.
To understand the significance of that feat, one must consider how the state tournament has been conducted over the years. From 1922-29, only the boys were allowed to participate and all schools were lumped into one class. The only area team to advance to the finals over that span was Union's boys, who
won the 1923 state championship with a 29-19 victory over Chickasaw AHS.
In 1930, girls were allowed to play and two Lauderdale County schools met for the state championship. Ponta (the Northeast Lauderdale area) defeated Vimville (Southeast) 48-34 in the finals. Quitman's boys also advanced to the state finals, falling 28-27 to Homewood in the title game.
The three area teams that reached their respective finals in 1930 set a standard that wouldn't be matched again until 1990 and, by then, the MHSAA had five classifications. From 1930-49, there was still just one classification. That changed in 1950 with two classifications lasting until 1965 when Classes A-AA and B-BB were split into four separate divisions.
The current five class system went into effect in 1985. To say area teams had a hard time reaching the finals after 1930 would be a major understatement. One team each year qualified from 1931-37, then an
11-year drought set in where none of the area teams played in the state championship game.
The Beulah Hubbard girls snapped the string of futility in 1949 as they reached the finals, losing 40-36 to Calhoun City.
In 1953, the Hickory boys defeated Martin 51-43 for the Class B-BB state championship. Other than 1930, it would be the only time for two area teams to play for a state championship until 1964 when newly-created West Lauderdale won the boys' Class A-AA title with a 59-50 victory over Tupelo and Hickory won the girls' B-BB championship by defeating Pisgah 54-51.
In 1990, three teams — two from Neshoba County — advanced to the championship round. The Philadelphia boys lost 60-49 to South Leake and the Neshoba Central girls fell 66-64 in overtime to South Pike. All was not
lost, however, as the Decatur girls ended their final school year with a 47-39 win over Belmont for the Class 2A crown.
In 1993, a record four area teams played for state championships. Bay Springs won the Class 2A girls' title, while the Lake girls were state runner-up to Hollandale Simmons. On the boys' side, Philadelphia took a 57-55 win over Potts Camp for the Class 2A crown, while West Lauderdale lost 53-49 to Corinth on a rare snowy night in mid-Mississippi for the Class 3A championship.
That mark held until last year when five area teams were among the last two standing in their respective classes. Choctaw Central defeated Southeast Lauderdale 56-45 for the Class 3A girls' title and Newton whipped Coldwater 60-46 for the 2A girls' championship. Meridian fell 65-61 to Harrison Central for the 5A girls' crown. The Meridian Wildcats lost 74-62 to Murrah in the boys' main event.
This year, six teams hung around for the final round of games with three bringing home the top hardware. It doesn't take long to figure out that if you're bad in this part of the state, you're going to have a long, long season playing the girls' teams from east central Mississippi. But if you're good here, you've got a great
shot of becoming a state champion.
Wayne County's girls brought home the top prize in Class 4A, beating previously-unbeaten Tunica Rosa Fort 64-57 in the finals on Thursday.
"We try to play a tough schedule every year, always thinking about the postseason," said Wayne County girls' head coach Gina Skelton. "That's a hotbed of girls' basketball around that area."
Philadelphia's Lady Tornadoes claimed the Class 2A crown on Friday with a 54-47 victory over Coahoma County.
"We start off in the summer playing and we play each other all over the place," said Lady Tornadoes' head coach Jason Gentry. "We played Southeast and Newton and Choctaw Central and Newton County. We played good quality teams to get us ready for this type of atmosphere.
"The brand of basketball in our area is just tremendous. We've got a lot of tremendous coaches. It's a tradition-type thing where people place a lot of emphasis on girls' basketball in general. That's what spurs people to achieve their best."
Choctaw Central finished second in Class 3A year this after winning the 2004 and 2005 state titles.
"It's amazing how good it is," Lady Warriors' head coach Walter Wilson said of the area girls' hoops. "The caliber of play is a lot better. "Even of the teams that got beat, Bay Springs had a real good ballclub. So did Newton."
Southeast won this year's 3A crown, beating Choctaw Central 58-53 in the finals.
"It's just so strong that playing each other makes you stronger," said Southeast head coach Joe Miller. "Over the years, we've gotten better just by playing Choctaw Central.
"East Mississippi is really strong in girls' basketball right now. I can't explain it, but we've really got a lot of good teams in our area. "In our case, I'm starting to have some daughters whose mothers came over to the state tournament and were the runner-up."
If it seems like the area girls have had better success than the boys, it's a proven fact. Through the years, area girls have played in 51 MHSAA state championship games compared to just 28 for the boys.
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