Turnovers plague Ocean Springs

Turnovers will come back to haunt you.

That was the case for Ocean Springs.

Behind a stingy defense and the play of Antionette Womack, Jim Hill beat Ocean Springs 52-41 in the second round of the Girls Class 6A playoffs on Friday night.

The Lady Tigers (26-5) will face Olive Branch in the quarterfinals at the Mississippi Coliseum on March 4.

“Jim Hill is extremely athletic, aggressive and physical. It was their pressure we weren’t able to overcome,” said Ocean Springs coach LaShonda Smith. “Turnovers cost us the game because they turned them into points.”

The Lady Greyhounds committed 27 turnovers. The Lady Tigers were able to get easy transition baskets off Ocean Springs’ mistakes.

Jim Hill raced out to a 16-8 lead at the end of the first quarter. But Ocean Springs went on a 9-2 run at the end of the second quarter, cutting the lead to 26-21 at halftime.

Jim Hill only allowed Ocean Springs to score just five points in the third quarter, building a 38-26 at the end of the period. All five points for the Lady Hounds was by Sophie St. Amant.

“That was the frustrating part was when we were able to get stops and break their pass we would get passive and play timid,” Smith said. “We were waiting for the pressure to come. Against a team like that, you cannot do that.”

Dougless St. Amant had 15 points to lead the Lady Greyhounds (17-9).

“We just didn’t get anything going offensively and execute,” Smith said. “I’m extremely proud of the girls for fighting. We are a young team and we can build on this for next year.”

Antionette Womack had 16 points to lead Jim Hill.

“We’ve been working hard a lot in the post all year and tonight kind of showed,” said Jim Hill coach Jacqueline Ross. “Ocean Springs was a good team. They broke our press quite a bit and was able to run their offense. Fortunately for us, their shots didn’t fall.”

This story was originally published February 24, 2017 at 9:46 PM with the headline "Turnovers plague Ocean Springs."