Horn Lake loses in Mississippi girls tournament semifinals to Forest Hill

Article and image from Commercial Appeal

Horn Lake junior Treasure Evans, who scored 10 points, makes a pass while being defended by Forest Hill’s Debony Wilson during Wednesday’s MHSAA state 6A semifinals.

Noticeably late returning to the bench — albeit 15-20 seconds into the second half of Wednesday’s Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 6A state semifinal contest against Forest Hill — was Horn Lake girls basketball coach Janna Lyons.

It was a slow, deliberate walk back to the sideline, one that might have been quicker had the first 16 minutes at the Mississippi Coliseum been any better. As it was, the Lady Eagles’ eventual 57-37 loss began with the defending state champion Lady Patriots opening with a 14-0 lead.

Horn Lake, which had captured its fifth consecutive North Half title 11 days earlier, stopped the bleeding with Felicia Odom’s 3-pointer at the 2:52 mark, yet the tone had been set.

“A lot of it just boiled down to their experience in the Coliseum,” said Lyons, “and not to discredit them at all, because they’re some great players and (they are) well-coached.”

Forest Hill improved to 29-3 and will face Southaven in Saturday’s championship game. Its hot start was punctuated by a pair of baskets from seniors Essence Pulliam and Anissa Jackson. The only other first-period points the Lady Patriots surrendered were scored from the free throw line.

“We’ve been practicing on breaking their press and playing good defense all week long,” Forest Hill coach Tangela Banks said. “That gave them the confidence that they could beat this team. Once you get the momentum going, it’s hard to stop them.”

The Lady Eagles (26-3) made the scoreboard respectable in the second period following 3-pointers from Odom and Keneisha Winfrey. Winfrey’s ensuing layup cut Horn Lake’s deficit to 27-14 and forced Banks to call a timeout at the 2:25 mark, but out of the huddle quickly came a 3-pointer by Claresa Banks. A nifty layup from Alexis Collins pushed Forest Hill’s advantage back to 20 points — the exact halftime margin.

Buckets by Winfrey and Alexyse Thomas gave the Lady Eagles a glimmer of hope early in the third period, but again, a Banks 3-pointer after a Lady Patriot timeout fueled an 11-2 run for the Lady Patriots.

“I knew at some point the youth would show up,” said Lyons, “and I just hate that it showed up tonight.”

Horn Lake started three sophomores, a junior and a senior in the rematch of last year’s state semifinal. Winfrey and fellow junior Treasure Evans led the way by scoring 10 points apiece.
“This season, we had a group of inexperienced but hardworking and passionate girls that survived this long,” Lyons said. “They needed to get this one under their belt, but I think looking at what we’ll have coming back next year is definitely a bright spot.”

Banks finished with 17 points to lead Forest Hill. Jackson and Alexia Dean each had 11, while Pulliam contributed 10 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.