BAY SPRINGS —The Lady Saints are one game away from winning their first state championship in the more than 45 years they have been playing basketball.
Greenville Christian School’s Tariyah Washington made four clutch free throws in the last 30 seconds of the game to help the Lady Saints defeat Claiborne (La.) 52-47 in the semifinals of the MAIS Class 2A state basketball tournament at Sylva-Bay Academy.
GCS (23-7) now heads to Saturday’s championship game where it will meet the winner of Friday’s other semifinal game between Centreville Academy and Manchester Academy.
“I could not be more proud of these girls,” GCS coach Brother Sandifer said. “They have shown so much resiliency and maturity, and they did again today.”
The Lady Saints were leading by one point with 40 seconds left on the clock when Greenville Christian’s Jordan Claiborne made a huge steal and passed the ball to Washington.
The Lady Saints scored the last six points in the game.
Washington, a sophomore and the Planters Bank Player of the Week, continued her recent offensive outburst by scoring 25 points. Williette Kingdom scored 12 points, and Taylor Ellis contributed eight points.
“It was tough out there watching such a close game, but nothing gets you going more than competition,” Coach Sandifer said.
