Harrison Central gets revenge on Germantown in 69-50 Semifinal rout

JACKSON — Harrison Central’s Red Rebels made the three-hour drive to Jackson with two goals in mind — to get revenge on Germantown for putting them out in the semifinal round, and to bring home a golden ball.

After Wednesday afternoon, they are half way there.

Harrison Central beat the snot out of Germantown 69-50 in the Girls’ 6A Semifinal Wednesday before a huge crowd at the Mississippi Coliseum, avenging a 55-32 loss to the Mavericks on this same court exactly one year ago.

“It’s pretty sweet,” Harrison Central guard Hayleigh Breland said. “It’s what we worked for all off-season. We had something to prove tonight’s and we did it.”

The Red Rebels (29-2) will face either Meridian or Clinton in the 6A Championship at 5 p.m. Saturday afternoon.

If they perform the way they did Wednesday, it won’t matter who they are playing.

The Red Rebels led it 24-9 after one quarter, 40-24 at the half and 53-34 headed into the fourth quarter.

They put five players in double-figure scoring — Breland led the way with 14 points, Laila Walker scored 13, Larissa Hubbard added 11 and Dekeria Walls and Makayla Davis both chipped in 10 points.

As a team, Harrison Central shot 52 percent from the floor and 54 percent from beyond the three-point arc.

“It was the same matchup from last year… and we talked about it being the same, but getting a different outcome,” Harrison Central coach Nancy Ladner said. “Tonight was their chance to win the game to make up for last year, and I think they came out in the first half believing they could win. That’s what this season has been about — believing they can win and finding a way to do it.”

It wasn’t just the offense for the Red Rebels, either. The defense did a number on Germantown’s all-everything duo Madison Booker and Alana Rouser, holding them to 12 points apiece. Booker alone had 25 points and 16 rebounds against the Red Rebels in the semifinal.

The Mavericks (24-7) shot just 21.6 percent from the floor (11-of-51) and scored 22 of their 50 points from the free throw line.