RIDGELAND — Pillow Academy and Jackson Academy have had some classic postseason battles.
The two perennial girls’ powerhouse programs added another chapter to that storied history here Saturday in the finals of the State AAA Division I Tournament at Madison-Ridgeland Academy.
The Lady Mustangs, ranked No. 2 in the statewide academy AAA poll, trailed by three with 11/2 minutes left in overtime but fought back for a thrilling 49-47 victory over No. 3 JA — thanks to a pair of free throws from Reynolds Whites with six seconds left.
“I felt good with Reynolds (at the line), because she’s a good shooter and a calm player,” PA coach Durwin Carpenter said. “Her nickname is ‘Cookie’ because we have a saying about putting her hand in the cookie jar when she shoots.
“I just told her ‘let’s go, Cookie, and she stepped up big and delivered.”
Senior Claire Sims put JA up 46-43 in the four-minute extra period, but a basket by Whites quickly made it a one-point game. PA then went up 47-46 on a bucket by Carolyn Wellborn.
With 26 seconds left, the Lady Raiders tied the game when Catherine Murphree hit one of two foul shots.
Whites was fouled 20 seconds later, sending her to the foul line shooting a 1-and-1. She drained both attempts to seal the win.
“I was pretty nervous, but I tried my best to focus on my shot,” said Whites, who scored six of her team’s eight points in overtime.
It was the 15th straight win for the Lady Mustangs, who are 4-0 against JA this season. They will play the No. 4 seed from Division II in this week’s State AAA Tournament at JA.
The date and time for that game will be announced this afternoon.
Pillow (28-2) seemed to be in control of the game early in the fourth. It matched its biggest lead of the game 30 seconds into the final period when Stella Malouf got a steal and scored on a driving layup in traffic.
Behind the play of Sims and Murphree and by taking advantage of several costly Pillow turnovers, the Lady Raiders outscored the Lady Mustangs 13-4 to close out the fourth.
With 1:07 left in regulation, JA went up 41-39 — its first lead since the opening period — on a pair of free throws from Murphree.
PA senior guard Morgan Woods tied the game at 41-all on a layup with 58 seconds left in regulation.
“We spread things out in the fourth quarter, and we had some careless turnovers that led to easy baskets for them. But I am proud of how our girls responded,” Carpenter said. “Also being without starter Ellen Hull (injured foot) hurt our rotation as far as resting the girls. We sure hope to get her back.
“But we had some girls step up when we had to have it.”
Wellborn, a junior center, finished with a team-high in points (13) and rebounds (10).
Malouf, who fouled out 10 seconds into overtime, finished with 11 points.
Whites had 10 points, five rebounds and four assists.
Sims paced JA (25-8) with a game-high 25 points, followed by Murphree with 13.
Wellborn, Whites, Woods, Malouf and Elizabeth Woody were the PA players named to the all-tournament team.
The Lady Mustangs earned a berth in Saturday’s championship with a 52-36 win over Parklane Friday.
PA trailed 7-6 at the end of the first period but led 26-14 at the half.
Malouf paced PA with 15 points, while Woods and Wellborn added 10 and nine, respectively.
In boys’ action, the Mustangs defeated JA 55-54 in overtime Saturday night in the consolation game.
Senior guard Pate Shackelford hit a pull-up jumper in the lane with four seconds left to give PA the win.
JA rallied in the fourth to force OT by outscoring the Mustangs 20-11. The Raiders hit five 3-pointers in the final period, while PA hit just 10 of 20 from the foul line.
No. 5 JA (23-10) hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer in regulation to force overtime.
No. 3 Pillow (21-6) plays either East Rankin or Presbyterian Christian this week in the first round of the State AAA Tournament.
The Mustangs got a first-round bye in the six-team tournament as the top seed from the North. They lost Friday in the semifinals 59-50 to Jackson Prep.
Bo Craig led the way in that game with a team-high 13 points. Shackelford added 11 and Taylor Young chipped in with eight.
