Lady Tigers power past Hayti, into final

BLOOMFIELD — Thursday night’s first girls’ Class 2 District 1 semifinal game was easy and breezy for Neelyville Lady Tigers as they shut down fourth-seeded Hayti early for a coast to the district championship contest.

The last time the Lady Tigers faced off against Hayti, they secured the win in dominant fashion, and this matchup was no different with a 72-30 victory.

“We had a couple of days off, and we needed to knock the rust off, so to be able to play and get this win is just what we needed,” Neelyville coach Becky Hale said. “Compared to the score, we didn’t shoot very well, but we made up for it with our blocking out and rebounding.”

As expected, the Lady Tigers (17-8) jumped off with an early lead, attacking the paint with dominant force and landing shots off Hayti’s turnovers.

Neelyville came out with a game plan to strike fast and hard before Hayti could have a chance to gather any momentum.

Hayti struggled to make a run as the Lady Tigers utilized a smothering trap defense that rattled the No. 4 seed for most of the first half. Neelyville held a comfortable 42-13 lead heading into halftime.

Only a little deference occurred in the second half, with Neelyville continuing to execute and Hayti struggling to find the basket.

Freshman Parker Ernst had herself a night by guiding the Lady Tigers with 27 points, proving how effective she can be in the post. With a bye to the semifinals, Ernst was eager to return to the court.

“We came into this game hyped and ready to go,” Ernst said. “I’m just happy to get the win and to be going to the championship.”

Ernst said their approach to every game would remain the same, and regardless of who they will play in the championship, they’ll be ready.

“We always say that you can’t be beaten as soon as you walk into the gym, you have to be ready to play no matter who the opponent is. Our mindset for the district championship is to win. It doesn’t matter how many times we beat them or not, every team is ready to play in districts, but we have to want it more,” Ernst added.

Sophomore Addison Couch added to Neelyville’s win with 10 points, and senior Brook Griffin chipped in with 11.

The Lady Tigers are back in action Saturday for the district championship, and Hale said the focus is defense.

“We’re going to need to work as hard as we can and hopefully get a win out of it. Our defense is our offense, so if we get locked in defensively, we’ll do just fine,” Hale said.

Campbell 45, Holcomb 32

In Thursday’s other semifinal, a strong second half run helped the No. 3 Campbell Lady Camels (17-7) defeat Holcomb 45-32.

Marie Wheeler guided Campbell with 17 points, Darcy Broglin added 10 and Mabrey Patrick chipped in with nine.

Maleigh Lemings held things together for Holcomb by dropping 15 points.