Hancock’s girls made it to the overall state tournament at the Mississippi Coliseum in Jackson last season, a place Poplarville’s girls would like to end up this year.

The homestanding Lady Hornets hope a big win in the championship game of the Pearl River County Tournament over the Lady Hawks can help propel them in that direction as well.

Poplarvile pulled out an exciting 49-46 win in the title game Thursday night over the traditionally powerful Lady Hawks, breaking a 32-32 tie with a 10-2 run down the stretch.

“This was a big win for us,” Poplarville head coach Annette Smith said. “We kind of relaxed when we got the lead, but we showed some composure and kept it together down the stretch.”

Poplarville led most of the second half, before Hancock’s Haliegh Arcement hit two free throws with six minutes to play to tie the game at 32-32.

But Poplarville’s Demi Beason scored six points in the ensuing 10-2 run, as the Lady Hornets took a 42-34 lead with 3:31 left.

Arcement wasn’t done though, as she came back with two consecutive three point plays over the next minute to cut the deficit to 48-46 with a minute to play.

But Demi Beason added one free throw and the Lady Hawks missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer to end the threat.

Demi Beason led a balanced Lady Hornet attack with 12 points, while Jeronda Beason added 11, Policia Travis 10 and Daquari Raine 9 to the winning cause.

For Hancock, Kristin McGuire scored a game high 15 and Arcement added 14.

Poplarville stands 6-1 on the year, while Hancock falls to 4-2.

Both Poplarville teams are back in action tonight, playing host to Stone High.

• In the girls consolation game, Pearl River Central new head coach Kevin Harris got his first taste of the Picayune-PRC rivalry and came away with a good taste in his mouth as the Lady Devils beat the Lady Tide 54-31.

“I cut my teeth in a county that prides itself on high school basketball,” Harris, whose team moves to 3-3 with the win, said. “I enjoy rivalry basketball. Tonight we made some outside shots early that we hadn’t been making and that gave us some confidence.”

The Lady Blue Devils jumped out to a 15-4 lead after the first period and really never looked back in easing to the 54-31 win.

Kayla Drummond paced PRC with 15 points while Tasha Holloway added 13. Sherronda Jackson had nine for Picayune, which fell to 0-7 with the loss.

The Lady Devils are now off for a lengthy break, not playing again until they travel back to Poplarville to take on the Lady Hornets to open Region 8-4A play on Dec. 5th.

“It’s a good way to go into the break,” Harris added.