The Newton County Academy Lady Generals had one of the most memorable weeks in school history this past week.
The Lady Generals opened the week by beating No. 1 South seed Wilkinson County Christian Academy 50-38 on Wednesday, becoming the first NCA girls team to win a game at the state tournament.
NCA then got another big win as they beat Marvell Academy 33-31 in the semifinals to make the Class 3A finals and qualify for the MAIS Overall Tournament for the first time.
In the championship game, the Lady Generals led early but Desoto used a big second period and took a 50-35 win to claim the Class 3A title.
“We got into early foul trouble against Desoto,” NCA coach Steve Harber said. “We were up one at the end of the first and then down 12 at the half. We scored the first six points of the third and then lost (Macie) Woodham to fouls and they took over. DeSoto is an excellent team and went 35-3 this year. I’m extremely proud of our girls. We are making history with each game. The fan base has been awesome. We had awesome sendoff, escorted by Newton County Sheriff’s Office, Homeland, and Decatur PD. It was great to see everyone lined up along Highway 15 cheering ”
The Lady Generals move to 24-6 on the season and advance to the MAIS Overall Tournament for the first time in school history. NCA will play Delta Academy on Friday at 12:30 p.m. with the winner getting the winner of Pillow Academy and Madison Ridgeland Academy on Saturday at 6 p.m.
Desoto School 50, NCA 35
Desoto used a huge second period to take a first-half lead and take a 15-point win in the Class 3A championship game.
NCA held a slim 4-3 lead at the end of the first period before Desoto outscored the Lady Generals 21-7 to take a 24-11 lead into the half. NCA fought back and outscored Desoto 13-10 to cut the lead to 34-24 going to the fourth. But Desoto outscored NCA 16-11 in the fourth for the final margin.
Lilly Hollingsworth led NCA with 18 points while Emme Reese had 13 points.
Hollingsworth and Reese both made the Class 3A All-Tournament team.
NCA 33, Marvell 31
The Lady Generals held late to take a two-point win over Marvell to advance to the Class 3A title game.
The game was tight in the first half as each team scored nine in the first and four in the second to tie the game at 13-13 at the half. But NCA then outscored Marvell 12-9 in the third to take a 25-22 lead into the third. Marvel took a 31-29 lead late in the fourth before the Alexander 3-pointer that gave NCA the lead for good.
Friday’s contest was a defensive battle, much unlike last week’s game when Marvell beat NCA 56-29 in the North 3A Tournament.
“It was a defensive struggle,” NCA coach Steve Harber said. “It was just back and forth the whole game, I don’t think anybody got ahead by more than three points. Cayden Alexander hit a 3-pointer with about a minute to go that put us up by one and then we got a defensive stop. We made a free throw and to put us up by two and then fought them off at the end. We were lucky because our two post players had fouled out. But the kids played extremely hard and weren’t going to lose that game.”
Alexander led NCA with 12 points while Lilly Hollingsworth had nine points.
NCA 50, Wilkinson County Christian Academy 38
The Lady Generals put four players in double digits and pulled away to take a 12-point win over Lady Rams to open the Class 3A Tournament.
NCA outscored WCCA 14-9 in the first period and then outscored the Lady Rams 13-10 in the second to lead 27-19 at the half. NCA then extended its lead in the third period, outscoring WCCA 15-8 to take a commanding 42-27 lead into the fourth. The Lady Rams took the fourth period 11-8 for the final margin.
Madline Vance led NCA with 12 points while Emme Reese and Macie Woodham had 11 points apiece. Cayden Alexander had 10 points while Lilly Hollingsworth had six points.
