The Pillow Academy basketball teams begin their quests for state championships today at home.
Pillow is hosting the eight-team State AAAA Division II Tournament, which starts today and ends on Saturday.
Looking for their first state crown since 2011, the Lady Mustangs face Hartfield Academy tonight at 7:45, with the winner advancing to Friday’s semifinals to play the winner of the Lamar-Magnolia Heights contest.
The top three teams advance to the MAIS Overall Tournament next week in Clinton.
The Lady Mustangs are 2-0 against Hartfield this season, winning 62-51 on Jan. 18 and 44-34 on Feb. 8.
The PA girls (23-3) enter the postseason off back-to-back losses to Madison-Ridgeland and Jackson Prep, both Division I teams in AAAA.
The Pillow boys (9-13) play East Rankin at 6:30 today. The Patriots won the only regular-season meeting between the two teams, 54-38 on Feb. 2.
PA head coach Nick Serio expects a much better game tonight.
“We were without one of our senior starters (Parker Bariola), had like 20 turnovers and shot like 24 percent from the floor,” Serio said. “At home, our boys will be ready to show that team isn’t 16 points better than us.”
The winner moves to Friday’s semifinals to face the Hartfield-Copiah winner.
The Mustangs are 1-1 against Hartfield and haven’t played Copiah this season.
The tournament starts at 4 today with the Hartfield-Copiah contest. The next game is at 5:15, the East Rankin-Copiah girls contest.
nContact Bill Burrus at 581-7237 or bburrus@gwcommonwealth.com. Follow on Twitter:@Bill_Burrus.
