Tianna Deberry and Jessica Evans both scored 23 points on Thursday to lead the Lady Vikings in an 84-44 victory over Lake View’s Lady Wild Gators to wrap up regular season girls basketball.
Latta jumped out to a 25-8 lead in the first quarter, but the two teams held each other to 10 points in the second for a 35-18 Viking lead at the half. But the Vikings proved too much for the Lady Gator defense in the third as they outscored Lake View 26-10 to carry a 61-28 lead into the final quarter. A 16-point rally from Lake View didn’t even make a dent in the Viking lead as Latta added 23 points in the fourth to seal the win.
Deberry and Evans each added 23 points, with Deberry making five assists, four steals, and four rebounds, and Evans grabbing seven rebounds with three assists and three steals. Ta’Keria Legette added 14 points and sank Latta’s only three-pointer in the game. She also made eight assists. Brittany Burgess had a team-high 13 assists for the Vikings, earning six points and grabbing five rebounds with two steals.
The Vikings had 12 players earn points in the game, including Mallory Townsend, who scored four points with three rebounds. Astayja Lemon sank three of four free throws for three points and two rebounds; TyKiera Bethea sank a two-pointer and grabbed three rebounds; Silesia Braddy sank a two-pointer with four rebounds and a steal; Kierra Johnson earned two points with two steals and one rebound; Maya Wright added two points with three rebounds and one steal; Michia Johnson sank a two-pointer with three defensive rebounds; Jocelyn Vereen sank a free throw, grabbing five rebounds with one steal and the team’s only successful block; and Courtney McCullock made two assists and two steals.
Lake View was led by Britney Washington with a team-high 17 points. Tranya Ford added nine, Jasmine Ford scored eight, and Kayla Sanderson earned five, with Kayla Page scoring four and Tiffany Waters adding one point for the Lady Gators.
Latta finishes the regular season on a 13-game win streak, for a 13-5 overall record and an 11-1 record in Region 8A. The Lady Vikings earned second place in the region, behind Hemingway’s Lady Tigers, who handed the Vikings their only region loss on December 13. Lake View finishes the season with a 4-13 overall record and 2-10 in the region.
Latta continued on to the first round of the Class A playoffs on Monday night, when they were scheduled to host the East Clarendon Wolverines, the number three team in Region 7A. If the Lady Vikings are successful, they’ll continue on to face the winner of Monday’s game between Ridgeland and Cross on Thursday, February 16.
