Coast Girls teams one victory away from reaching the State Tournament
Eleven Coast girls teams are one win away from reaching the Girls' State Basketball Tournament.
St. Martin, Harrison Central, Gulfport, Ocean Springs, West Harrison, Pascagoula, Picayune, Bay High, Moss Point, Pass Christian and East Central advanced to Friday's second-round state basketball playoffs. All games tip off at 7 p.m.
In 6A, Oak Grove visits St. Martin, Harrison Central entertains Terry, Gulfport travels to Jim Hill and Ocean Springs goes to Brandon. The Lady Jackets and Red Rebelettes are coming off first-round byes by winning the Region 7-6A and 8-6A titles.
Region 8-5A champion West Harrison hosts South Jones, Picayune travels to West Jones and Pascagoula visits Provine.
All four teams in Region 8-4A reached the second round. Region 8-4A champion Bay High entertains South Pike, Pass Christian travels to McComb, Quitman hosts Moss Point and East Central travels to Florence. The Lady Hornets are coming off the first girls playoff win in school history.
West Harrison coach Otis Gates isn't overlooking South Jones, who upset two-time defending 5A champion Natchez in round one.
"South Jones will be a lot to handle," Gates said. "They were down 14 points to Natchez and won by three. South Jones won't quit. They play hard. With us making the state tournament last year, the girls have a feel for the postseason."
Lady Hurricanes center Ameysha Williams has narrowed her college choices down to Mississippi State and Southern Miss. Gates said a decision will be made sometime next week for Williams, who averages 27 points and 13 rebounds a game.
Harrison Central coach Nancy Ladner is concerned with a Terry team that has three players over 6-feet: Magee Kim, Holly Hampton and Nyah Tate.
"Terry has a lot of size," Ladner said. "We don't match up with them height wise, but speed wise, we'll be okay. Pushing the ball down the court and scoring in transition will be key for us."
The girls state basketball tournament will be held March 4-12 in Jackson. All quarterfinal games will be played at Jackson State. The semifinals and finals will be played at the Mississippi Coliseum.
This story was originally published February 25, 2016 at 6:25 PM with the headline "Coast Girls teams one victory away from reaching the State Tournament ."