Picayune’s Lady Tide saw its basketball season come to an end Monday night, losing to Long Beach 70-27 in the Division 8-4A Tournament’s first round.

The Lady Tide end the year winless at 0-26, while Long Beach moves on to the semifinals. “We knew coming into the year that we would be not only young but very inexperienced as well,” first year head coach Kristi Mitchell said. “But I thought the girls that we finished the season with showed a lot of class and character, and we are looking forward to better times in the future,”

Picayune lost its top six players of the previous year, and Mitchell took the job late in the Summer.

The Lady Tide also lost one of its best players in Monique Brown early in the year to an injury..

“Because of everything that went on, not only did we not have any experience coming back but the girls didn’t get to play any over the summer to get ready for the season either,” Mitchell added. “Then we had to rebuild again after the injury. But they gave it all they had.”

On Monday, Picayune fell behind 24-3 after the first quarter.

Karly Moran scored 10 to pace Picayune in the defeat, while Janea Willis added 8 and Amanda Richard scored five points in her final game for Picayune.

Richard was the lone senior on the team.

“We had some good moments and we had some bad moments during the season,” Mitchell concluded. “But the most important thing I think we got out of this year was that we learned something fom every moment we faced.”

Whitney Lyons scored 16 for LBHS.