By Robert Wilson
FLOWOOD – Brandon girls basketball coach Holly Moncrief won her 300th career game Monday afternoon in Day One of the Mississippi Scoreboard/Community Bank Classic here at Jackson Prep.
And Moncrief did against a unique opponent, Parklane Academy, one of the best teams in the MAIS.
Brandon from the MHSAA defeated Parklane 46-41 in a back and forth game with the intensity of a state championship game before an estimated 400 at Prep’s gym.
Not until 5-foot-9 junior guard Symia Jones – who was named the Legacy Theatre Flowood Player of the Game who scored a team-high 17 points – made a steal and a layup with five seconds to play was the game’s outcome decided.
It is believed to be the first time in school history that Brandon had played a school from the MAIS in girls basketball.
Brandon – ranked No. 9 in Mississippi by MaxPreps and one of the favorites to win the MHSAA Class 7A state championship this year – improved to 14-4.
Parklane – ranked No. 28 in Mississippi by MaxPreps and one of the favorites to win the MAIS Class 4A championship and its second consecutive Overall Tournament title this season – dropped 13-3. Brandon was Parklane’s second MHSAA opponent this season. The Lady Pioneers defeated Poplarville 59-26 in the Pearl River Community College Thanksgiving Classic a month ago.
Brandon plays its second MAIS opponent Jackson Prep Tuesday at 4 p.m. in the tournament at Prep. Parklane plays its second straight MHSAA opponent Callaway Tuesday at 2:40 p.m. Prep defeated Callaway 47-32 Monday afternoon.
Carlyle Carruth – a 5-foot-11 guard/forward, considered one of the top sophomores in Mississippi with a Division I offer from Southern Miss and niece of former Parklane, Alabama and NFL running back Paul Ott Carruth – had an outstanding start to the game with 11 points in the first quarter as Parklane jumped out to a 18-10 lead.
Carruth and 5-7 senior guard and East Texas Baptist commitment Zoe Alford combined for 20 first-half points and Parklane led 27-24 at halftime despite Jones’ 13 first-half points.
But Brandon caught fire and outscored Parklane 11-5 in the third quarter and took a 35-32 lead. The Lady Bulldogs went on a 9-2 run to open the second half for a 33-29 lead and never trailed again.
Brandon led by as much as seven points, 42-35, with 4:50 to play after a 3-pointer by junior guard Katelin Dixon, but a layup and a 3-pointer by Alford cut the lead back down to 42-40 with 2:40 to play.
Brandon led 44-41 with the ball with under a minute to play, but made a turnover with 42 seconds to play, Parklane missed a 3-point shot. Then Brandon made another turnover with 25 seconds to play to give Parklane another chance to tie the game, but Davis got her key steal and a layup.
In addition to Jones, Dixon had 16 points, 10 in the second half, and 5-11 senior forward Karissa Baker had 10 points, eight in the second half.
Moncrief – a Brandon High, Meridian Community College and Belhaven University graduate – has won 300 games in 13 seasons as a head coach, 10 years at Puckett, one year at Lake (and won a MHSAA Class 2A state championship), and two years at Brandon.
“I have to take a little pride for my girls because they fought hard to come back,” said Moncrief in a postgame interview with Jake Wimberly on the Mississippi Scoreboard livestream. “Kind of not a great first quarter but after that we settled in and played our game. I told my girls after the first quarter we had to settle down. We haven’t seen anyone like Parklane, that’s one reason why we wanted to get in this tournament. They are very disciplined and well coached. I felt like we did our job in the second, third and fourth quarters executing but also our defense stepped up. When we couldn’t press, sometimes we get in a rut, but we got together in our half-court defense. Symia has really come on for us and taken over a game when we needed her to. Our district is tough so playing these two games is going to really help us to see our weaknesses but also see our strengths. We are playing really well together right now and that’s a positive. This group works the hardest of any group I have had. I have to give credit to Parklane because they are a great team. No. 12 (Carruth) is tough but her supporting cast is great, too. “
Carruth – whose brother Brewer plays on the Southern Miss basketball team – had a game-high 18 points with 6 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 assists and 1 blocked shot and Alford, a 5-7 senior guard, had 16 points and three assists. Anna Sawyer, a senior forward and Southern Miss softball signee, had a team-high 11 rebounds.
“Brandon came out of halftime with a sense of urgency and knocked down two key shots to tie the game,” said Parklane coach Vicki Rutland, who played at Forest Hill High, played softball and was a cheerleader at Delta State and has coached basketball, softball and has been an athletic director at Lumberton, West Marion, Northeast Jones, and Lawrence County before coming to Parklane five years ago. ”Our shots fell in the first half and their shots fell in the second. I was proud of our girls for maintaining composure and fighting back in the fourth quarter with our full court pressure. Both teams played tough defense and ran the floor extremely well, especially out of a holiday break. That’s why this game was so important for us to play – it prepared us for competition in the toughest conference in the MAIS. Taking the L from a well coached, disciplined and athletic team like Brandon is worth it. Because ultimately, there are things you can’t simulate in practice that we wanted to work on and Brandon provided the challenge we needed at a time that we needed it.”
“I think we came out confident and aggressive, working the ball well and getting good shots,” Carruth said. “We gave it our all the whole game and worked as a team and I was proud of the way we played and handled ourselves during the game.”
