Latta’s Lady Vikings fell to Ridgeland’s Lady Jaguars 59-45 in one of the most heated games of the season, ending with injuries and the ejection of Ridgeland’s Tiara Nelson.
The Jaguars had plenty of foul trouble in the first half, with Matesha Stevenson benched with three fouls. Latta lead 10-7 at the end of the first quarter, but the Jaguars went 23-16 in the second to led by just four points at the half, with April Jenkins leading the charge for the Jaguars.
Although Jenkins sprained her left ankle in the second half and slowed considerably, Stevenson returned to action to pick up the slack as the Jaguars outscored Latta 13-8 in the third. Entering the fourth quarter, Ridgeland led by nine points and kept up their momentum by outscoring Latta 16-7 to claim the win.
Nelson was ejected from the game with just 54 seconds remaining after an altercation with a Latta player. Under SCHSL rules, ejected players are automatically suspended from the next game, but Jaguars coach Frederick Toomer said he planned to appeal the decision.
After the game, Latta coach Curtis Jackson agreed with Toomer that the two teams should not shake hands after the game. Jackson said the Vikings came prepared for Ridgeland and had anticipated a good showing in the playoffs.
“We handled their pressure,” he said. “It wasn’t the players on the floor. It was the guys in the striped shirts.”
The Lady Vikings were led by Tiana Deberry with 19 points and Ta’Keria Legette with 11. Jessica Evans had five, Courtney McCullock earned four, and Silesia Braddy, Brittany Burgess, and Kierra Johnson each added two points for Latta.
April Jenkins led Ridgeland with 20 points, with Tiara Nelson adding 11 and Telethea Dopson scoring 10. Matesha Stevenson earned nine points, NyJae Boozer had eight, and Shantavia Swinton scored one point for the Lady Jaguars.
Latta wraps the season with a 14-6 record.
Ridgeland was scheduled to continue on to host Timmonsville on Monday night. Timmonsville defeated Baptist Hill 57-37 on Thursday. Elsewhere in the Class A Lower State bracket, C.E. Murray defeated Burke 49-41 and Hemingway defeated Whale Branch 56-50. The Tigers were scheduled to host C.E. Murray in the third round of playoffs on Monday night.
In the upper state, Denmark-Olar defeated McCormick 63-48 and Landrum defeated McBee 55-51 to move on to face each other in round three. Abbeville defeated C.A. Johnson 43-29, and Calhoun County defeated Blacksburg 48-28. Abbeville is worth noting as the third seed team defeated the second seed St. Joseph’s and the top-seeded C.A. Johnson to advance to face Calhoun County in the semi-finals.
