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Tishomingo County catches fire in OT to get past Pass Christian in 4A semifinals

Madison Bennett scored a game-high 26 points for the Lady Braves

JACKSON — Basketball is a game of runs.

Tishomingo County waited and waited to get hot in Monday's Class 4A Girls Semifinal, but when it finally arrived, it couldn't have come at a better time.

The Lady Braves used a 11-0 run in overtime to outlast Pass Christian 65-52 in at the Mississippi Coliseum.

Tishomingo County (31-3) will face Choctaw Central for the Girls Class 4A State Championship on Thursday night at 5 p.m.

“I thought we did a good job getting good shots, getting to the rim. It was a physical game and the girls found ways to overcome and I’m proud of them,” said Tishomingo County coach Brian Middleton. “Madison Bennett was pretty dang good there at the end.”

With Tishomingo County leading 49-47 and with the ball with less than 10 seconds left. Pass Christian’s Kamaiyah Pruitt came away with a steal and passed the ball to Kylah Bell who hit a lay-up with two seconds left to tie the game at 49-49 and send the game to overtime.

In overtime it was all Lady Braves.

Tishomingo County went on a 11-0 run to take a 60-49 lead in overtime and seal a berth in the 4A state title game for the first time since 1996.

“Early in the game we were getting good looks, shots weren’t falling,” Middleton said. “Defensively we stepped in overtime and got some turnovers and was able to turn into points.”

Madison Bennett had a game-high 26 points to lead Tishomingo County. UT-Martin signee Clara Garland added 10 points for the Lady Braves.

“I was really mad because we were supposed to hold the ball and run the clock out, but things happen and we had to work through it,” Bennett said. “We had to stay positive and do everything we had to get rebounds, score, and pull through. Shots finally started to fall when it mattered. It’s so exciting to play on Thursday.”

The Lady Braves are back in the state title game for the first time since 1996.

“Survive and advance and just glad we’re playing on Thursday,” Middleton said. “We’ll go back and prepare and be ready.”

Bell had 14 points to lead Pass Christian, while Pruitt added 10 points for the Lady Pirates (27-7).