West Harrison girls seek Gold Ball against Holmes County Central

The West Harrison girls basketball team can earn the school's first Gold Ball Friday night at the Mississippi Coliseum in Jackson.

The Lady Hurricanes can provide the school's first team state championship in any sport when they take on Holmes County Central in the Class 5A state championship game at 6:30 p.m. on Friday.

Both squads feature impressive records with a combined three losses between the two teams, all coming against two of the better Class 6A programs in the state.

West Harrison is 25-2 with the two losses coming to St. Martin and Holmes County Central is 29-1 with its lone defeat coming to Olive Branch.

Holmes County Central is a balanced team that features a variety of players who can score.

West Harrison is reliant on hits star senior, Ameshya Williams, to provide much of the scoring.

The two teams may be built a little differently, but West Harrison coach Otis Gates sees the state title match-up as being pretty even.

"We're about as evenly matched as we can possibly be," Gates said Thursday.

Holmes County Central had a run of 10 consecutive double-digit wins come to an end when it earned a 43-39 victory over Lanier in the Class 5A semifinals on Tuesday.

The Lady Jaguars only have one player, sophomore point guard Destiny Haymer, who is averaging double digits in scoring this season. She is averaging 10.8 points and 3.5 assists.

"They kind of spread the wealth," Gates said. "They've got a shooter (Nhmia Wilson) that's been shooting the ball real well and their point guard (Haymer) can penetrate to get to the basket. Their post players are very strong inside.

"It'll be a big challenge. We'll just have to come out and play as well as we have been."

Williams had 22 points and 20 rebounds in the 53-39 win over Hattiesburg in the semifinals and another double-double of 27 points and 13 rebounds in the 49-43 win over Ridgeland in the quarterfinals.

Gates sees a challenge ahead for Williams, a 6-foot-3 post player who has verbally committed to Mississippi State.

"I think the Holmes County post players are a little stronger than what we've seen before," Gates said. "It's going to be difficult for her, but I think she's capable of being effective inside. They're going to present a challenge for us."

Holmes County has a trio of senior forwards who will likely be tasked with slowing down Williams on Friday.

Brittany Webster is 6-foot-1 and averages 8.1 points and 5.3 rebounds while Alexis Stewart stands 5-10 and has averages of 4.7 points and 6.1 rebounds. Mi'Carria Conway is 6-foot and is averaging 5.0 points and 5.7 rebounds.

Gates is confident that his team can continue to build on what has been an impressive defensive performance all season.

West Harrison has only give up over 60 points in regulation once this season, a 64-41 loss at at St. Martin on Feb. 8. The Lady Hurricanes have given up 50-plus in regulation in just two other games - a 51-50 loss to St. Martin and a 62-61 win over Bay High in overtime.

Gates has seen that defensive intensity carry over to the postseason.

"We've been much better on defense. On Tuesday (against Hattiesburg), no doubt," Gates said. "We played much better defense (Tuesday) and we'll have to continue to do that to be successful. That's our focus in practice every day."

Points have also proven hard to come by against Holmes County Central in the postseason with no team topping 40 points yet.

"They play hard and they play aggressive," Gates said of HCC. "Their post players are real physical, strong and they defend pretty well. We've got to minimize our mistakes."

This story was originally published March 10, 2016 at 2:38 PM with the headline "West Harrison girls seek Gold Ball against Holmes County Central ."