Lady Dawgs get two wins in 7-3A race

Franklin County’s varsity girls basketball team improved to 10-6 on the hoops season thanks to a trio of wins, including a 2-0 start in Mississippi High School Activities Association 7-3A district competition.

The Lady Bulldogs kicked off the new year with back-to-back regional wins over Wilkinson County, 56-22, on Friday, Jan. 6 and Port Gibson, 54-35, on Tuesday, Jan. 3.

FC also downed Amite County, 37-19, in the final contest of the calendar year played on Tuesday, Dec. 20.

The team’s lone loss came against McComb in the Lions Club Classic played on Saturday, Dec. 17 at Southwest Mississippi Community College in Summit. The Lady Tigers’ win avenged a 48-38 loss in Meadville to Franklin County on Tuesday, Nov. 29.

FC 56, WILKINSON COUNTY 22

The Lady Bulldogs’ offense outpaced the Lady Wildcats in the first three quarters of this game played Friday, Jan. 6 in Meadville with FC seeing runs of 13-4 in the first, 14-6 in the second and 20-1 in the third to build an impressive lead.

Wilkinson County rallied, however, in the fourth quarter with an 11-9 scoring run.

FC’s Ja’Kya Brown paced all players with 18 points while teammate DeAsia Buie scored 10 in the victory. Niyla Wright added eight for the Lady Bulldogs as Harmoni Porter finished with seven and Saiyon Harris chipped in six.

Kennedy Washington recorded three as Shamara Stewart and Teearlynn Faust tacked on two apiece.

As a team, FC was 15-of-31 from the free throw line with Porter and Harris both going 2-of-2 in the contest. In addition, Brown was 4-of-7, Buie went 4-of-8, Washington was 1-of-4 and Wright finished 2-of-8.

FC 54, PORT GIBSON 35

Franklin County had few issues with the Lady Blue Waves on the road Tuesday, Jan. 3 and outscored Port Gibson from start to finish – leading 28-15 at intermission and stayed hot thanks to runs of 17-12 in the third quarter and 11-8 in the fourth frame.

Wright had a season-high showing on the tally sheet thanks to 21 points – seven coming before the mid-game break and 14 more after intermission.

Two other Lady Bulldogs scored in double figures with Buie collecting 14 and Brown adding 11 against Port Gibson.

Also, Harris finished with five points while DaShara Hannon tacked on three and Ariel Williams chipped in two.

Franklin County was 9-of-20 from the charity stripe with Harris going 1-of-1 and Wright seeing a 5-of-9 effort from the line.

Buie was 2-of-4 on the night, Brown went 1-of-4 and Washington was 0-of-2.

FC 37, AMITE COUNTY 19

The Lady Bulldogs ended 2022 with a road win over the Lady Trojans on Tuesday, Dec. 20.

After trailing Amite County, 6-4, at the end of the first quarter, FC’s offense caught fire with a 16-7 run before intermission with the Lady Bulldogs holding a 20-13 edge at the break.

Despite a low-scoring second half, FC did enough to claim the win thanks to a 9-2 run in the third and an 8-4 pace in the final eight minutes of regulation.

Brown wound up as the Lady Dawgs’ top scorer with 14 while Buie added 13, Wright recorded eight and Porter finished with two.

Franklin County was 13-of-25 at the line against Amite County with Porter going 2-of-2.

Shooting 50 percent from the stripe were Buie (5-of-10) and Wright (2-of-4) while Brown finished 4-of-9 in the outing.

McCOMB 31, FC 26

The Lady Tigers outscored the Lady Bulldogs by three points in the first half, 19-16, and two more after intermission, 12-10, to claim a win over Franklin County on Saturday, Dec. 17 in the Lions Club Classic.

Three FC players scored in the contest with two of those – Buie and Brown – scoring in double figures.

Buie finished her effort with 13 while Brown added 10 and Wright scored three.

Brown hit a pair of three pointers in the second half of the contest.

The Lady Dawgs wound up 8-of-16 from the free throw line against McComb with Buie shooting 5-of-8, Brown going 2-of-4 and Wright ending up 1-of-4.