JACKSON - Pillow Academy's hopes for another girls' state title were dashed by the hot shooting of Presbyterian Christian School.
The Lady Bobcats outscored the Lady Mustangs 20-11 in the fourth period for a 52-40 victory here Saturday in the finals of the State AAA Tournament at Jackson Academy.
PCS shot 61 percent from the field while Pillow hit just 31 percent. The Lady Mustangs also lost the battle of the boards as they were outrebounded 31-20.
"They made some big shots. We had some open looks, but we couldn't get them to fall," said Pillow coach Durwin Carpenter. "If we make those shots, it's a different game, but give PCS credit. They've got a good team."
PCS (34-2), the AAA Division II champion, ended the win streak of the AAA Division I champs at 17.
The Lady Mustangs (30-3) will play Tuesday in the first round of the MPSA Overall Tournament against Brookhaven, the No. 3 seed from Class AA, at Mississippi College in Clinton. The winner will play in the quarterfinals against the Class A champion.
The Lady Mustangs led PCS 23-21 at the half, but the Lady Bobcats scored the first five points of the third period and led the rest of the way.
PA senior guard Morgan Woods hit a driving layup on a nifty assist from Reynolds Whites late in the third to cut PCS's lead to 32-29 heading into the final period.
But PCS's Rebecca Masters opened the fourth with a 3-pointer - her fifth of the game - to spark her team's 10-2 run for an 11-point advantage with 5 minutes to play.
Pillow never got closer than eight after that.
Masters sparked her team's hot shooting with a 5-for-5 outing from 3-point range to finish with a team-high 15 points.
"(Masters) hurt us from the corner with those 3's," Carpenter said. "We knew she could shoot, but she hadn't been shooting like that. She had been averaging like 2-of-6 in recent games. We knew we had to help out on her, but we didn't get out quick enough."
PCS was 6-of-8 from long range, while Pillow hit just 4-of-18 from beyond the arc.
Junior center Carolyn Wellborn led PA in scoring with 15 points. She also had a team-high five rebounds.
Woods finished with eight points while dishing out five assists and recording six steals. Whites was next for PA with seven points.
Wellborn, Woods and Stella Malouf were named to the all-tournament team.
