The Pillow Academy basketball team will limp into the postseason, which starts Tuesday with the State AAA Division II Tournament at East Rankin Academy.
The Lady Mustangs were hit hard by a stomach virus Friday, leaving two key players, Merritt Belk and Rebecca Falls, at home sick for the game at Hillcrest Christian School in Jackson.
PA starting point guard Airrin Woolfolk got sick on the way to the game but was able to play some and then center April Leonard got sick during the game.
The Lady Mustangs went on to lose 50-26 to finish the regular season at 15-11. They will be the No. 2 seed from the North and face Copiah, the third seed from the South, at 4 p.m. Tuesday in the first round of the tournament.
“That was tough with so many sick, but hopefully they all will be over it and be able to get their energy back for Tuesday,” PA girls coach Durwin Carpenter said. “I expect them all to be ready to go. We will pretend like it didn’t happen, watch some film on Monday and get ready to go play.”
The Pillow girls didn’t have a player score more than five points in the loss to Hillcrest.
The Mustangs had one starter, Steve Pannell, get sick on the way home from the team’s 63-50 loss to Hillcrest. It was the fourth straight loss for the Mustangs against a run of four straight ranked opponents.
Brantley O’Dell, Dillon Ussery and Raines Cook each had 10 points, while Maury Sykes added nine.
PA finishes the regular season at 13-13, 4-10 in North AAA conference play. The Mustangs, the three seed from the North, will face Columbia, the South’s No. 2 seed, at 5:15 p.m. Tuesday at East Rankin.
