Miller leads South Side to 7-AA semis

South Side girls basketball wanted to avoid its recent history of early eliminations in the Region 7-AA quarterfinals.

So did Quanardra Miller. The sophomore guard was good for 30 points as the Lady Hawks beat South Gibson 53-42 in the 2017 version of the region quarterfinal. The Lady Hawks move on to the region semifinals to play Crockett County. South Gibson is eliminated.

“I was just ready to come play and try to help my team get this win,” Miller said after the game.

South Side gained a big advantage in the second and third quarters when the Lady Hawks broke a 17-17 tie with an 18-2 run. The Lady Hornets had a hard time scoring in the closing minutes before halftime and didn’t end their scoring drought until the 3:37 mark in the third quarter.

“Everybody around here knows we press, and we started out doing that and had a few players get into early foul trouble,” said South Side head coach Brent McNeal. “We had to pull back for a few minutes, and we had a hard time scoring there for a few minutes.”

South Side eventually did go back to its pressure all over the court, and it worked as it was the main reason the Lady Hornets couldn’t get a basket for long stretches of time.

But the Lady Hawks’ half-court defense worked as well. The home team picked up a number of turnovers as South Side’s players did a good job almost playing like football defensive backs when South Gibson would pass the ball across the court.

The Lady Hawks got into the passing lanes and gained control of the ball and took it down the court for the easy baskets more times than not.

South Gibson did cut into the lead early in the fourth quarter when South Side began to slow down on the offense and hold the ball at half court. The Lady Hornets played more aggressive ball and cut into the lead, but it never got lower than 10 points.

“One thing about these players is they never give up,” said South Gibson head coach Carla Wyatt. “And I knew they had that kind of fight, because they showed it all season.

“We needed to get a couple more stops and come back and get a basket, but South Side did a good job of getting to the basket and staying ahead of us.”

Christen King led South Gibson with 18 points. Sarah Grace Scott and Tatum Russell had 10 apiece.

South Side will play Crockett County at South Gibson on Monday in the region semifinals.

Reach Brandon Shields at 731-425-9751 or at bjshields@jacksonsun.com. Follow him on Twitter @JSEditorBrandon.