BLOG — Three months to the day after defeating South Jones in Pontotoc’s Best of the Best tournament, the Oxford Lady Chargers beat the Lady Braves on an even bigger stage Saturday afternoon at Jackson’s Mississippi Coliseum.Oxford topped South Jones 62-54 to capture the MHSAA’s Class 5A state title and end their remarkable season at 33-0 overall in the process. Saturday’s win was the fourth state title in girls basketball at OHS and first since the 1998 team capped a run of three straight wins in the championship game.
Erika Sisk led the Lady Chargers, who were last beaten by Lanier in the 2011 North Half tournament, with 20 points and six assists in the victory. Sisk was catalyst down the stretch for the Lady Chargers from the free-throw line as she hit four from the charity stripe in the final minute and went 11-for-16 from the line overall.
Oxford trailed the Lady Braves (28-8) by as much as four points in the first quarter and a half before the Lady Chargers closed the opening half on a 9-4 run to lead 29-24 at intermission. OHS was able to make a move on South Jones despite on of its top players, Kristen Dickerson, on the bench with three fouls.
The Lady Chargers were pushed a few times in the third quarter and once in the fourth by South Jones but they never lost the lead they gained with the second-quarter run. OHS was up 10 (48-38) to end the third and its lead never dropped below four points the remainder of the game.
Meisha Gillom finished with 12 points and led OHS with nine rebounds, while Alexus Malone had 10 points and four rebounds inside for the the Lady Chargers. Keoshya Wilson led South Jones with 16 points.
For more on Oxford’s championship win, including reaction from Sisk, Malone, Dickerson and coach Shayne Linzy, see Monday’s Sports section and the EAGLE front page. (March 3, 2012)
