These girls want to bring home 1st basketball state title since 2005. ‘We’re on the grind.’
There may not be a South State title game in basketball, but Harrison Central could rest well this week knowing it’s South Mississippi’s best girl’s team as the only 6A squad heading to the Big House in Jackson.
But Nancy Ladner’s group has no plans for resting just yet. Friday’s Final Four-clinching 69-34 win over Pascagoula was only another step in the Red Rebelette’s path to the ultimate prize: a state title.
“We’re still getting better every day,” guard and Jackson State commit Hayleigh Breland said after the game. “We go hard in practice. We practiced all week, no break, for Pascagoula. We’re on the grind. We just got to keep pressing it and we can go win those two games.”
Breland has been the glue of the team at point guard by leading with unselfish play and timely scoring. She attributed 10 points to her team’s scoreboard Friday night but mostly played facilitator for Laila Walker and her 26 points.
Harrison Central is chasing a return to glory with a team that has dominated the majority of its schedule behind high-chemistry basketball.
“They are playing well right now,” Ladner said. “They’re playing as a team. They’ve bonded as a team. This has been a year where you see one, you see them all together. They stick together and do things together. That’s the chemistry you have to have to carry on to the championship.”
The program has 13 state titles to its name but is getting further and further away from the last banner hung up in 2005. Even in the midst of the school’s longest title drought in nearly 50 years, the Red Rebelettes are playing with confidence and focus at just the right time.
“I think we were kind of on-and-off a little bit through the season but right now they have that drive and determination,” Ladner said. “They are understanding what it is going to take to win. They’re playing with that enthusiasm. They’re just going out there with the grit.”
Many members of the team have made the trip to Jackson before when Harrison Central made its way to the Final Four last season.
Its leader, a transfer from a nearby school, will be making the trip for the first time, though.
“Me coming from Stone, this is all I’ve ever wanted,” Breland said. “I put in so much work and I just worked so hard. I’ve never had the team that just pushed to get up there, but now I’m here. I’m blessed, I thank God. I thank my team for getting me here. I’m a leader and I’m going to keep leading my team. We’re going to go win that thing.”
Harrison Central will have to face a familiar Germantown team when it arrives at the Big House on Wednesday. The Red Rebelettes were bounced by the Mavericks last season in Jackson. Germantown features one of the top prep players in the country in Madison Booker, making it a challenging matchup for Harrison Central’s big three of Breland, Walker and Anaisha Carriere.
Joined in Jackson
3A: St. Patrick boys vs. Booneville
4A: Pass Christian girls vs. Tishomingo
4A: Moss Point boys vs. Clarksdale
5A: Picayune boys vs. New Hope
6A: Harrison Central girls vs. Germantown
6A: Biloxi boys vs. Olive Branch
